Canadian Funding Corp Reviews CMHC Affordable Housing Reports

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) launched its new National Seniors’ Housing Survey today. The survey, conducted in all provinces, collected information on vacancy rates and rents in seniors’ residences with services not offered in traditional rental structures.

“Vacancy rates and rent levels in the seniors’ housing market reflect a different market makeup than the traditional rental market,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist for CMHC. “The demand for seniors’ housing is expected to increase as the baby boom generation ages. The anticipation of this eventual increase in demand, has spurred the construction of seniors’ units ahead of actual demand. This, in turn, has led to an average vacancy rate of 9.2 percent in seniors’ residences that tends to be higher than in the traditional rental market.”

The national vacancy rate applies to standard spaces, which are defined as:

* private units such as a bachelor, one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment occupied by a single individual or a couple; one unit is considered as one standard space;
* semi-private units; one unit is considered as two standard spaces;
* ward units; one unit is considered as three standard spaces or more;

The vacancy rate is calculated for all standard spaces regardless of whether the occupant participates in a meal plan or requires medical services. The vacancy rate covers only spaces that accommodate residents who receive less than 1.5 hours of care per day.

Vacancy rates varied considerably across the country, from a low of 3.4 per cent in Saskatchewan to a high of 18.9 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador. The vacancy rate in Ontario (13.3 per cent) was above the national figure, while the rates in British Columbia (7.5 per cent) and Quebec (7.9 per cent) were below average.

Average monthly rents in the seniors’ market are higher than traditional market rents, reflecting the additional services and amenities that residents of these structures receive. The average rent for bachelor/private units where meals are included was $1,774 per month. Average rents ranged from a high of $2,519 per month in Ontario to a low of $1,271 in Quebec. Differences in average rents reflect, in part, the varying prevalence of services and amenities in each province.

As Canada’s national housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

Information on this release:

Andrea Scott
CMHC
Media Relations
Tel.: 613-748-4075
ascott@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Backgrounder

* CMHC conducted its first National Seniors’ Housing Survey in February and March 2009. Previously, CMHC had regional seniors’ reports in B.C., Ontario and Quebec, which were published annually.
* The new national survey was conducted in all 10 provinces and in all centres regardless of size, which had a residence meeting the eligibility criteria.
* The survey targeted private and non-profit residences where the majority of residents were 65 years of age or older and had access to additional services not offered in traditional rental structures. To be eligible for the survey, a residence must provide an on-site meal plan or on-site medical services. Virtually all residences surveyed provided an on-site meal plan. Other amenities and services that were popular in some of the residences included on-site medical services (57.8 per cent), transportation services (44.2 per cent) and 24 hour call-bell service (92.0 per cent). Note that the survey excluded nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
* Across Canada, some 43 per cent of standard spaces in the seniors’ housing market rented for less than $1,500 and 22.0 per cent of spaces rented for $2,500 or more per month.
* Some 176,845 seniors lived in the 2,464 residences surveyed, capturing 8.2 per cent of the Canadian population at, or above, the age of 75.

http://www.cmhc.ca/en/corp/nero/nere/2009/2009-06-22-0815.cfm
reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

OTTAWA, June 10, 2009 — The average rental apartment vacancy rate in Canada’s 35 major centres¹ increased slightly to 2.7 per cent in April 2009, from 2.6 per cent in April 2008, according to the spring Rental Market Survey² released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

And this is very good news, Moishe Alexander says.

Mark Salerno, CMHC district manager explaines:

Completions of condominiums, which continue to attract renter households looking to move into homeownership are decreasing demand for rental housing. Also, some of the completed condos compete with rental units if they were purchased by investors who then rent them out. These two factors have put upward pressure on the vacancy rate,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “However, this has been balanced by higher levels of demand for rental housing.”

The results of CMHC’s spring survey reveal that the major centres with the lowest vacancy rates in April 2009 were Québec City (0.6 per cent), Regina (0.7 per cent), Winnipeg (0.9 per cent), Saguenay (1.1 per cent), and Trois-Rivières (1.1 per cent). With respect to British Columbia, only two centres had vacancy rates below two per cent; Victoria at 1.2 per cent and Vancouver at 1.9 per cent.

At the other end of the spectrum, the major centres with the highest vacancy rates were Windsor (15.5 per cent), St. Catharines – Niagara (5.3 per cent), and Abbotsford (4.8 per cent).

The highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures were in Vancouver ($1,154), Calgary ($1,106), Toronto ($1,093), Edmonton ($1,059), and Victoria ($1,043). Of all the major centres, these five were the only ones with average rents at or above $1,000. The lowest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures were in Saguenay ($494), and Trois-Rivières ($512).

Year-over-year comparison of rents can be slightly misleading because rents in newly built structures tend to be higher than in existing buildings. However, excluding new structures provides a better indication of actual rent increases paid by tenants. Overall, the average rent for two-bedroom apartments in existing structures across Canada’s 35 major centres increased 2.9 per cent between April 2008 and April 2009. Rent increases were larger in Saskatoon (15.5 per cent) and in Regina (11.4 per cent).

CMHC’s spring Rental Market Survey also found that the average rental apartment availability rate in Canada’s 35 major centres was 5.0 per cent in April 2009, up slightly from 4.9 per cent in April 2008. A rental unit is considered available if the unit is vacant (physically unoccupied and ready for immediate rental), or if the existing tenant has given or received notice to move and a new tenant has not signed a lease. Availability rates were highest in Windsor (18.0 per cent), London (7.9 per cent), St. Catharines – Niagara (7.9 per cent), Guelph (7.0 per cent), and Sherbrooke (7.0 per cent). The lowest availability rates were in Winnipeg (1.4 per cent), Regina (1.8 per cent), and Victoria (2.5 per cent).

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

1 Major centres are based on Statistics Canada Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) with the exception of the Ottawa – Gatineau CMA, which is treated as two centres for Rental Market Survey purposes and Charlottetown, which is a Census Agglomeration (CA).

2 CMHC’s Rental Market Survey is conducted twice a year in April and October, to provide vacancy, availability and rent information on privately initiated structures in all centres with populations of 10,000 and more across Canada. Reports are released in June and December.

The spring survey covers apartment and row structures containing at least three rental units, and unlike the fall survey does not report information on:

1. Smaller geographic zones within centres
2. Secondary rental market (rented condominium apartments, single detached, semi-detached, duplexes or accessory
   apartments).