The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Canada rose 3% last year to $1,167, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s (CMHC’s) annual rental market report.
The rise in rent was attributed to a supply and demand imbalance, and the increases were also affected by the different speeds of recovery cities have experienced in the late stages of the pandemic.
Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) were facing the most severe affordability challenges because those cities held onto the highest average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment. Vancouver rent increased 2.4% to $1,824, while rent in the GTA rose 1.5% to $1,666.
The national vacancy rate in Canada sat at 3.1% last year, compared with 3.2% in 2020 and 2.2% in 2019.
Vacancy rates declined in 21 of the 37 markets CMHC analyzed, including Vancouver, Calgary, Victoria, and Halifax, but increased in three locations: the Greater Toronto Area, Winnipeg and Abbotsford-Mission.
The remaining 13 areas, including Montreal, held steady with their vacancy rates. Toronto holds about 15% of the rentals in the country, while Vancouver has 5%.