Canada’s rental vacancy rate has hit a near-historic low of 1.9 per cent, according to a new report.
But New Brunswick’s situation improved slightly, with the vacancy rate edging up slightly.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its annual look at rental supply on Thursday.
Officials said rental housing supply surged year-over-year in 2022, but demand outpaced growth.
An additional 55,000 apartment units were added to the supply between October 2021 and October 2022. The 2.6 per cent increased marked the strongest rate of increase since 2013.
But during that same time, the number of occupied units increased by around 79,000, or 3.8 per cent.
Rental supply increased by about 55,000 purpose-built rental apartment units (+2.6%) between October 2021 and October 2022. This is the strongest rate of increase since 2013.
CMHC said several factors led to the increase in rental housing demand, including higher immigration and net migration, more expensive home ownership, and students returning to on-campus learning in several areas.
The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment jumped 5.6 per cent in 2022 to an all-time high of $1,258. According to the report, the increase was well above the 1990 to 2002 average of 2.8 per cent.
New data shows average rent growth for two-bedroom units was significantly higher for units that turned over to a new tenant (18.3 per cent) versus the ones that did not (2.9 per cent).
“Landlords often increase rent to current market levels when a tenant leaves a unit. Some landlords upgrade units between tenants so they can charge higher rents to new tenants,” said the report.
“These higher rents increased affordability challenges for renters who are trying to enter the market or find new housing.”
Turnover rates decreased to 13.6 per cent in 2022 from 15.5 per cent the year before, indicating that households are staying in their homes longer.
Vacancy rate edges up in N.B., bucking national trend
Here in New Brunswick, the overall vacancy rate climbed slightly to 1.9 per cent from 1.7 per cent in 2021.
Saint John was the only region in the province that saw its vacancy rate fall, from 2.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent.
Vacancy rates stood at 1.7 per cent in Moncton (up from 1.5 per cent) and 2.2 per cent in Fredericton (up from 1.8 per cent).
The average rent for a two-bedroom unit in New Brunswick jumped nearly 9.5 per cent to $1,061, an increase of $92.
Of the province’s three largest centres, Saint John saw the largest increase at nearly 15 per cent, jumping by $132 per month to an average of $1,020.
The average rent for a two-bedroom increased by 10 per cent in Fredericton (up $105 to $1,152) and 6.5 per cent in Moncton (up $68 to $1,111).
Meanwhile, the average rent for all apartment types increased 8.9 per cent to $1,006, an increase of $82.
Fredericton has the highest average rent at $1,125, followed by Moncton at $1,057 and Saint John at $961.
An additional 1,269 apartment units were added to the supply over the past year, bringing the total to 38,252.
Most of the new units — just over 82 per cent of them — were two bedrooms, while one-bedroom units made up nearly 15 per cent of the new supply.
Greater Moncton saw its overall supply increase by 795 units, while the overall number of units in the Saint John region increased by just 154.
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