October 2013 Rental Market in St. John's

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwired - Dec. 12, 2013) - The rental apartment vacancy rate⁽¹⁾ in the St. John's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) was 3.2 per cent in October 2013, up from 2.8 per cent in October 2012, according to the Fall Rental Market Survey released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

"Although high house prices and solid economic activity continued, rental demand was not sufficient to keep the vacancy rate from rising," said Chris Janes, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for St. John's. "New rental apartment supply and increased competition from the secondary rental market, notably new basement apartments, exerted upward pressure on the reported vacancy rate," added Janes.

On the basis of a sample of structures common to both the 2012 and 2013 surveys⁽²⁾, the average two-bedroom rent increased by 5.2 per cent in St. John's.

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⁾ 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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A table is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/917259a.pdf