“Economic recovery and growth boosted demand against supply that was constrained by labour shortages,” said the report.
The CMHC said rent for vacant units were 20 per cent higher than those for occupied units, highlighting an affordability barrier for prospective tenants.
“Affordability remains a challenge for lower-income households that face very stiff competition for units they can afford. This is because those units are also accessible to higher-income households,” said the CMHC.
There were declines in vacancies for all unit types (number of bedrooms). The overall rate in 2022 is the latest result in a declining trend from a peak of 14.5 per cent in 2008. The report suggested that declining vacancy rates over a sustained period reflect the increasingly tight rental market.
Lizzy Ward and her partner were living in a two-bedroom home for $1,350 a month, but when their family grew a year ago, they know they had to look for something with more space.
The family found a three-bedroom home with a studio basement for $2,400 a month, plus utilities.
“We're worried almost every month,” she said. “Oh will this be the month that we can't pay rent? Will this be the month that we can't pay this bill or that bill?”
Ward is like many, who are now spending more than 50 per cent of their monthly income on housing alone.
“The amount of stress and worry and things that therapy can't even help because it's not something that's just you can talk about it and feel better,” she explained.
Real estate agent Rhys Trenhaile says the low supply and high demand means landlord can raise rents, which jumped 11 per cent in 2022.
“When the vacancy rate is that low, what you're doing is you're putting upward pressure on rents because now you start getting renters competing, instead of before we had buyers competing,” he said.
CMHC rent vacancy Windsor
Bidding wars
In 2022, the CMHC said Windsor started seeing “bidding wars” on rental apartments for the first time. The report said this was highlighted in conversations with stakeholders on emerging themes.
“The low vacancy rate is the result of increasing rental unit demand coming up against limited rental unit supply. Fewer units are available to potential renters when more units are taken up than are made available,” according to the report.
Increasing demand
The CMHC said demand for rental units grew migration increased rental unit demand. Windsor’s population grew by 1.2 per cent in October 2022 year-over-year. The easing of pandemic restrictions at the start of the year brought back international migrants and temporary residents. At the University of Windsor, the return to campus brought students back to the area. Higher rental unit demand was supported by economic recovery and employment growth in sectors where the workers tend to be renters.
Home ownership costs impact rental market
Higher homeownership costs kept more people in the rental market supply was also constrained by higher costs of homeownership, suggested the report.
“Higher interest rates increased borrowing costs, and this led to a reduction in the capacity of some households to enter the market,” said the CMHC.
The impact of this was evident in the October 2022 MLS sales, which were 37 per cent below their five-year average. Some renters who would have transitioned to homeownership remained in the rental market. This was all reflected in lower rental-unit turnovers.
In 2021, almost 17 per cent of units turned over, while in 2022, only 13 per cent of units did. There were lower turnovers recorded for all unit types across all zones of the CMA, revealing the widespread nature of the decline.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the vote later today on the Conservative motion calling for a new study into foreign interference will not be a confidence vote.
While the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the issues surrounding Credit Suisse have shaken investor confidence, a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis appears to be unlikely, one analyst says.
Gwyneth Paltrow is scheduled to stand trial on Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actress-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing in Utah at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.
March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day and to mark the occasion a Canadian organization launched a campaign showcasing older people living with the condition.
A 31-year-old neuroscientist is believed to be among the six people missing after a massive fire in Old Montreal last week. An Wu was staying at the heritage building on Place d'Youville to attend a conference, according to friends and family.
Several parents are questioning the filtering process of eBooks available to students at the Waterloo Regional District School Board (WRDSB) after they say their children were able to access eBooks that are not age appropriate.
About 10 people have been displaced and damage is estimated at $1-million after a fire in Aylmer on Monday. John Street in Aylmer, Ont. has reopened in both directions following a fire on Monday night.
An 81-year old property owner tells CTV News he’ll do the work himself without machinery, if that’s the method directed by city council. Three years after John McLeod demolished the historic barn on Halls Mill Road without a permit, a plan to remove the pile of wooden debris is taking shape.
The Old South Community Organization (OSCO) is expressing concern about city staff’s failure to consult with stakeholders before recommending that Thames Pool be decommissioned.
Market trends in Simcoe County show an increase in viewings and buyers re-entering the market after key interest rate hikes from the Bank of Canada warded off many last year.
Elliot Lake has cancelled the Northern Shore Drag Race, which has been going on for the past two decades and typically draws hundreds of vehicles and a thousand people.
A member of the city of Ottawa's board of health is speaking out about body shaming after receiving a letter that said she shouldn't serve on the board because of her weight.
A 31-year-old neuroscientist is believed to be among the six people missing after a massive fire in Old Montreal last week. An Wu was staying at the heritage building on Place d'Youville to attend a conference, according to friends and family.
Rescuers have yet to recover any additional bodies from the wreck of a fire in Old Montreal last week. As of Tuesday morning, there were still six people missing. The body of one victim, a woman, was extracted on Sunday.
Mayor Valerie Plante said Monday she requested a meeting with an Airbnb executive after a building in Old Montreal — a short-term rental hot spot — was destroyed by a fire that has left six people missing.
Two staff members and a student -- who is also the suspect -- have been injured in a stabbing at a high school in Bedford, N.S., according to the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE).
The president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) is weighing in after two staff members and a student, who is also the suspect, were injured in a stabbing at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
New Brunswick's finance minister is scheduled to table a provincial budget Tuesday as the government grapples with problems in health care and housing and the effects of a population surge.
Students and community members will gather in protest outside the Calgary Board of Education Centre Tuesday morning, calling for the removal of the Sir John A. Macdonald name from a northwest junior high school.
A Wheatland County sanctuary that cares for abandoned and surrendered farm animals faces an uncertain future after having a permit application to keep operating denied.
A woman who lives across from the apartment where a 16-year-old shot and killed two Edmonton police constables has multiple bullet holes in her door, with a couple piercing her doorframe.
After a large fire spread from tents to a shuttered theatre on the city’s Downtown Eastside, Vancouver’s fire chief told reporters she was “incredibly frustrated” that more isn’t being done to prevent daily fires breaking out in the area.
Vancouver council will soon vote on a policy that could slow development in the Broadway Plan, one of the most significant long-term projects underway in the city.
CMHC rent report for Windsor. (Source: CMHC)
CMHC rent vacancy Windsor
