Report shows Halifax's 2022 rental vacancy rate second lowest in Canada
A new report shows the rental market in Nova Scotia has been hit hard with increased demand and short supply.
"We’ve seen that younger people are staying in rentals longer and continue to boost rental demand," says Kelvin Ndoro from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
On Thursday, the CMHC released its yearly report, highlighting Halifax’s rental vacancy rate sits at one per cent, or the second lowest in Canada.
The city's turnover rate is 11 per cent, which is also the second lowest nationwide.
The turnover unit rent hiked 28.9 per cent, while the rent increase to current tenants is up 4.5 per cent – that's the highest in Canada.
As a result, officials say in 2022 the average Halifax two bedroom unit was around $1,449.00, which increased 9.3 per cent.
According to officials, low vacancy rates are a sign construction lacking with population growth.
Between July 2021 and July of 2022, about 28,000 people moved to Nova Scotia.
"Halifax actually had negative interprovincial migration, which means we saw more people leaving to other parts of Nova Scotia then we’re coming here whereas the surrounding areas like East Hants Warden, Kings County, Cumberland for example, Truro has seen an increase in interprovincial migration,” Ndoro says.
Kevin Russell from the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia said he wasn't shocked by the data.
"When the government introduced rent control in Nova Scotia in 2020 we advised government and anyone that would listen that rent control would result in higher rents than pre-rent control,” Russell says.
According to Russell, Nova Scotia’s two per cent cap on rental increases is forcing some property owners to sell.
“That market is going back into single-family home ownership. We’ve done surveys with our members that show that there’s 12,000 units at risk of being sold,” says Russell.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.