Canada’s national apartment vacancy rate fell 40 basis points to 4.7% in during the second quarter, breaking a streak of nine straight quarters of increases. However, a new report by Yardi Canada Ltd. also found the vacancy rate was 60 basis points above the 4.1% rate recorded one year earlier.
Among the major markets, the lowest second quarter vacancy rates were in Halifax (2.4%) and Winnipeg (2.8%), while Calgary (6.8%) and Edmonton (5.8%) had the highest rates both easing from the prior quarter.
During the second quarter, the average national in-place rent rose inched up by $6 to $1,774, marking the smallest quarterly gain since 2021; the annual in-place growth slowed to 2.2%.
“After two years of rising vacancy, the market is finally tightening even as new purpose-built supply keeps coming online,” said Peter Altobelli, president of Yardi Canada Ltd. “Vacancy fell to 4.7% in Q2 because demand absorbed new deliveries, and the pipeline is now set to slow. In this recalibrating market, operators who use data, technology and AI to time lease-ups, manage retention, and underwrite new supply against real demand will define the future of the Canadian apartment rental market.”
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