Results from the Fall 2011 Rental Market Survey for the Kingston Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), indicate that vacancy rates average remained about the same level as last year.
Strong demand in the rental market this year was absorbed by an large number of rental units becoming available.
According to a CMHC media release:
As a proxy for supply, Kingston’s apartment universe increased by 2.2 per cent from last year. Meanwhile, apartment availability rates for two-bedroom units increased to 2.3 per cent from 1.8 per cent in 2010.
Fixed-sample(1) average rent for two bedroom apartments in existing structures in Kingston was up 1.6 per cent from last year.
“Less ownership demand meant fewer potential first-time buyers likely vacated their rental suites. Consequently, with fewer renter households transitioning from renting to owning a home, vacancy rates were stable in 2011,” said CMHC’s Kingston Market Analyst, Abdul Kargbo.
The lowest vacancy rate among major cities in October 2011 were recorded in Regina (0.6%), Winnipeg, Kingston, Guelph (1.1% in all three cases) and St. John’s (1.3%). Across the provinces, Manitoba had the lowest percentage of vacant rental units at 1.0%. Two other provinces recorded a vacancy rate below 2%: Newfoundland & Labrador (1.3%) and Saskatchewan (1.9%).
Larger centers where there was the highest vacancy rates were Windsor (8.1%), Abbotsford (6.7%) and Saint John (5.9%). New Brunswick (4.8%) was the highest in the provincial ranking.
CMHC has over 65 years of experience as the country’s national housing agency, helping Canadians access a range of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. It also strives to provide reliable, impartial and current housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.
For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.
CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at CMHC Housing Market Information. http://www.cmhc.ca/housingmarketinformation.
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