Renters in Canada are facing the toughest market in decades as surging demand and high prices meet some of the lowest national vacancy rates in decades, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Across the country, in the purpose-built rental market, the average two-bedroom rent was up 5.6 percent, to $1,258, while the vacancy rate slipped down from 3.1 percent in 2021 to 1.9 percent.
The report found the demand for purpose-built rental apartments increased in 2022, while the vacancy rate decreased. Demand outpaced supply in 2022, dropping the open vacancies lower than they were in 2021.
The condo apartment market, meanwhile, saw the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment hit $1,930, with a national vacancy rate of 1.6 percent.
In most markets, especially Ontario and B.C., the report notes that the share of rental units available and affordable for the lowest-income renters is either “in the low single digits, or too low to report.”
CMHC said that rental affordability “continues to pose a significant challenge across the country“ and that there is a lack of affordable rental housing, ”especially for the lowest 20 percent of income earners,“ which it attributes to ”very low stocks of rental units that are affordable for people in lower income ranges.”