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TransUnion.ca/ShareAble the region led rental demand to increase faster than supply.

• With Calgary’s economy growing beyond pre-pandemic levels, the rental market tightened to conditions not seen since Alberta’s last economic boom. Overall vacancy rate dropped to 2.7% (from 5.1% in 2021), the lowest since 2014.

• A strong economic rebound and record migration flows in Edmonton contributed to rental demand outpacing new rental supply in 2022. The purposebuilt rental apartment vacancy rate was 4.3% in October 2022, down from 7.3% in October 2021.

• In Ottawa, strong demographic and economic conditions supported rental demand and as a result, the vacancy rate dropped from 3.4% in 2021 to 2.1% in 2022. The greatest declines occurred in central neighbourhoods, partly because of the return of post-secondary students.

• Record high supply growth has helped alleviate rental market tightness, while rising demand has accelerated rent increases in the Victoria rental market. The

The Rate of New Construction

In Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, multi-unit construction led housing starts in 2022, with rental apartments and condominiums accounting for the majority of new housing projects.

CMHC describes housing starts as “an economic indicator” reflecting the number of residential housing projects that have been started over a specific length of time. For the month of December, total housing starts in both urban and rural areas declined five per cent to 248,625 units compared to November 2022. Specifically, multi-unit urban starts decreased four per cent to 182,850 units while singledetached urban starts fell 11 per cent to 44,858 units.

Housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) reached 45,109 units, which is 7.6 per cent higher than the previous year. In fact, this marked the highest level since 2012 (48,105 units) and the fourth highest number on record. According to CMHC, the growth in Toronto’s housing starts was “entirely attributable to the multi-unit segment” comprised of semi-detached homes, row homes, and apartments. In all, there were 38,780 multi-unit starts across the city in 2022—the largest number on record—with the majority being apartments and condominiums.

In Montreal, activity was in line with pre-pandemic levels with 24,000 overall housing starts, down 25 per cent from the record year experienced in 2021. This decrease was observed across all market types (homes, rentals, and condos), with rental apartments continuing to drive housing starts in the area. In 2022, rental projects in Montreal represented 61 per cent of all housing starts.

Housing starts in the Vancouver CMA totaled 25,983 units in 2022, unchanged overall from 2021 (26,103 units). Builders in the region are continuing to operate near capacity and at an elevated pace, in keeping with the trends seen there over the past five years. As construction of rental apartments surged due to strong demand, condominium starts fell, indicating developers took a more cautious approach to the segment. With higher mortgage interest rates limiting the budgets of homebuyers, CMHC believes some of the demand from ownership in Vancouver has switched to rental.

For more on vacancy rates, housing starts, and other market information, visit www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Asset Transformation

vacancy rate rose slightly to reach 1.5 % (from 1 % in 2021), mostly from the expansion of the rental apartment stock.

• In Hamilton, the vacancy rate for purposebuilt rental apartments was the lowest since 2002 at 1.9%. The number of occupied units increased due to more student renters, higher full-time employment and fewer renters transitioning into homeownership.

• The vacancy rate in Halifax did not change in 2022, staying at the record low of 1%. The number of rental apartment units increased by 1,348. This was the lowest number of annual rental completions since 2016.

• In some of Canada’s largest centres, rented condominiums can be a driver of rental markets. Vancouver was the leader (with 42.5% of its rental stock made up of condominiums), followed by Calgary (37.5%) and Toronto (34%). Centres in Quebec generally reported smaller shares, including Montréal at 6.7%.

• The average rent for a 2-bedroom rental condominium apartment saw a significant increase to $1,930 from $1,771, about 9% yearover-year.

For more information, visit www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca