The Vancouver region has long been known as one of Canada’s most expensive rental markets, and new data released Friday suggests it also continues to be one of the least accessible.
An annual report by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) found the vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments in Metro Vancouver dropped from 2.6 per cent in 2020 down to 1.2 per cent in 2021.
“The return of economic growth, the return of students to post-secondary institutions and a return of migration to British Columbia, all of those combined to increase rental demand in the past year
in Toronto, vacancy rate jump up to 4.4 per cent.
“That’s due to people continuing to leave the central core of Toronto and move to places like B.C.,
Even those who find a rental can face increasingly unaffordable rents.
According to CMHC, the average rent for a two-bedroom condo in the region was $2,498 – the highest in the country, and well above the national average of $1,771.
There were about 1,600 new purpose-built rental units added in the past year and 2,500 new condo units added as well.”