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Vancouver rental vacancy now near zero


Blog by Ian Watt | January 15th, 2008


 

The apartment rental vacancy rate in the city of Vancouver is now pegged at 0.5 per cent, one of the lowest in Canada, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's  Rental Market Survey. The apartment vacancy rate for the Vancouver CMA was 0.7 per cent, unchanged from 2006. "There are several factors driving demand for rental  accommodation in the Vancouver CMA," said Robyn Adamache, senior market analyst with CMHC. "The main cause is our strong economy which is creating jobs and drawing people to the region. Also, the rising cost of home ownership is causing some people to stay in rental housing rather than buy. Finally, longer completion times on condo projects are keeping first-time home buyers who bought apartments through presales in rental accommodation." Vacancy rates were higher for larger units than for smaller ones in most centres. The average vacancy rate for bachelor and one-bedroom suites was 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively. Larger two and three plus bedroom units had vacancy rates of 1.0 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively. Robust demand for rental accommodations and low vacancy rates enabled many apartment owners to secure higher rents in 2007. A comparison of structures common to the fall 2006 and  2007 rental market surveys shows a 4.6 per cent increase in rents. The secondary rental sector houses more than half of renters. Most new rental supply is coming from apartment condominiums.