The overall vacancy rate for rental apartments in Canada fell for the second year in a row, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Rental Market Survey released Wednesday.
The vacancy rate was three per cent in 2017 but fell to 2.4 per cent this year.
CMHC’s report covers the primary rental market, which includes units in purpose-built rental buildings, while the secondary market covers condominium apartments offered for rent.
The vacancy rate in B.C.’s primary rental market went up slightly to 1.4 per cent, compared to 1.3 per cent last year.
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Some of the lowest vacancy rates were recorded in Vancouver at one per cent, Abbotsford-Mission at one per cent and Victoria at 1.2 per cent.
The highest monthly rental cost for a two-bedroom apartment in the country was in Vancouver at $1,649, up 5.5 per cent from 2017.
Rents in Kelowna were up 9.4 per cent, while rental costs rose 7.6 per cent in Victoria and 8.2 per cent in Abbotsford-Mission.
LISTEN: Principal market analyst for the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation Eric Bond talks us through the numbers:
In the secondary rental market, it was a similar story for rental condos.
Vancouver had the lowest vacancy rate in the country at 0.3 per cent and the second-highest monthly rent at $2,034, about $300 below Toronto.