TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 12, 2013) - The rental apartment vacancy rate¹ in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) was 2.9 per cent in October, 2013, relatively unchanged² from 2.6 per cent in October 2012. The rental apartment vacancy rate¹ in the Guelph CMA was 1.9 per cent in October, 2013, up from 1.4 per cent in October, 2012 according to the Fall Rental Market Survey released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

"Despite a greater number of renter households moving to homeownership, rental demand in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo was supported by employment, migration and more post-secondary students requiring rental accommodation. In Guelph, more renter households moving to homeownership and a lack of employment growth led to less demand for rental housing", said Anthony Passarelli, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and Guelph.

On the basis of a sample of structures common to both the 2012 and 2013 surveys³, the average two-bedroom rent increased by 3.2 per cent in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and the average two-bedroom rent increased by 3.3 per cent in Guelph.

Rental Market data is also available in English and French at the following link: CMA Rental Market Report

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

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¹ The survey is based on privately-initiated rental apartment structures of three or more units.

² The change in the vacancy rate for the current year was not significantly different, on a statistical basis, from the previous year.

³ Year-over-year comparisons of average rents can be slightly misleading because rents in newly built structures tend to be higher than in existing buildings. Excluding new structures and focusing on structures existing in both the October 2012 and October 2013 surveys provides a better indication of actual rent increases paid by tenants.

Additional data is available upon request.

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To view the graph and tables associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/917283e2.pdf