TORONTO – Are you a renter? If so, you may want to avoid Vancouver and think about moving to Sherbrooke.
According to new data collected in April by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom, primary purpose-built apartments were in Vancouver ($1,274), Calgary ($1,267) and Toronto ($1,241).
On the other end of the spectrum were Quebec cities Saguenay ($562), Trois-Rivières ($571) and Sherbrooke ($594).
The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment across Canada was $930 according to the data, which is based on a survey of Canada’s 35 major centres.
The average vacancy rate stayed at 2.7 per cent, the same as April 2013.
Edmonton and Calgary (1.4 per cent each) and Kelowna (1.5 per cent) had the lowest vacancy rate, while Moncton (10.7 per cent), Saint John (10.0 per cent) and Charlottetown (8.7 per cent) had the highest.
“The stability of the national vacancy rate is due to supply and demand factors,” Bruno Duhamel, Manager of Economic and Housing Analysis, said a statement released by the CMHC.
“Demand for rental housing continues to be supported by population gains from net migration and stable employment levels for young workers aged 20 to 24.”
WATCH: The apartment vacancy rate in Edmonton sits at just 1.4% – tied as the lowest in Canada. Laurel Gregory finds out why.
The CMHC conducts its Rental Market Survey in April and October in all centres across Canada with a population of 10,000 or greater. Data collected is released in June and December.
The spring survey covers apartment and row structures containing at least three rental units. Unlike the fall survey, it does not include information on smaller geographic zones within centres or secondary rental markets (rented condominium apartments, single detached, semi-detached, duplexes or accessory apartments).
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