According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC)’s annual Rental Market Report, Canada’s supply of purpose-built rental apartments experienced a 30-year high, growing by 4.1 percent in 2024 to move the national vacancy rate to 2.2 percent from a record low of 1.5 percent in 2023.
Though growth in rental supply slowed average rent growth, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment was up 5.4 percent from an already record eight percent in 2023. Average rent for a two-bedroom was $2,173 in 2024, over $2,049 the year before.
Rent growth for new tenants remained unchanged at 23.5 percent year over year. Rent hikes on turnover units represented more than 40 percent of the overall rent increases experienced in 2024.
Rented condominium availability was also tight in 2024, with the average vacancy rate for rented condominiums in the 17 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed for the report 0.9 percent, unchanged from the previous year and down 1.6 percent over 2022.
Certainly, the added supply of purpose-built rental apartments has alleviated some of the supply issues, but affordability remains strained as rental stock growth was driven by the completion of higher-priced units.
Of the CMAs, Toronto experienced the lowest rent growth at 2.7 percent, down from 8.8 percent in 2023, which was driven largely by rising vacancy rates, increasing supply, and lower turnover rates.
Vancouver’s rental supply grew at a slower pace over the previous two years but still managed to exceed historical rates. High demand, however, did not slow rent growth as it did in the Toronto market.
Calgary saw slowed rent growth, though it still outpaced other CMAs when it came to strong demand, driven by the region’s high rate of population growth and stable economic conditions, though unemployment remains a problem in the city.
On the east coast, Halifax had strong rental supply growth, and unlike Calgary, slower population growth, which helped to alleviate some of the strain on the rental market. Its vacancy rate rose to 2.1 percent in 2024, and rent growth experienced the largest year-over-year decrease of all CMAs, down to 3.8 percent from 11 percent the previous year.
