Calgary's apartment vacancy rate increases, but so does rent

水管工

Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
" L0 Q$ L7 [8 FPublished: Thursday, June 05, 2008
, I; ~/ G$ c6 f+ W) ECALGARY - Calgary's apartment vacancy rate has increased from a record low last year but so has the average monthly rent of a two-bedroom apartment to the highest level in Canada.
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In the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area, apartment vacancy was at two per cent in April compared with 0.5 per cent in April 2007, said the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation as it released today its Spring Rental Market Survey.
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$ q1 K0 c) J* L! J0 MAnd the average monthly rent of a two-bedroom apartment was $1,096, leading the nation's major centres which were surveyed in the report. Of the 35 major centres, only Calgary, Toronto ($1,075), Vancouver ($1,071) and Edmonton ($1,000) had average monthly rents at or above $1,000 for a two-bedroom apartment.

Across Alberta, the apartment vacancy rate in centres with a population of 10,000 or more increased from 0.9 per cent in April 2007 to 2.9 per cent in April 2008 and the two-bedroom rent averaged $1,049 per month, up from the $932 average reported in the April 2007 survey.
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The Wood Buffalo region, which includes Fort McMurray, had a vacancy rate of 0.1 per cent and the highest two-bedroom average rent at $2,350 per month. The lowest vacancy rate in the province was 0% for Canmore and Okotoks.
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9 f! t: _/ I' j; A3 n: q5 TNationally, the average rental apartment vacancy rate decreased slightly to 2.6 per cent in April from 2.8 per cent a year ago. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Canadian CMA's rose to $805 per month from $784 last year.
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) b7 R0 B1 }/ H% O# y1 f6 @- {The rental market in Calgary has become more balanced "which is good news to those looking for rental accommodations," said Lai Sing Louie, senior market analyst in Calgary for the CMHC.
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5 j  |: \- K+ l2 c% x* \0 t* f"Their search for vacant units should be much easier this year."
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He said the increase in vacancies is because of a moderation in net migration, continued movement to home ownership and increased supply in the secondary rental market.
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. k: |0 Y8 m0 Q2 Gmtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com