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Canada's purpose-built rental vacancy rate, per CMHC's annual Rental Market Survey — the 2025 national rate, how it broke down across major cities, and the record supply behind the shift.
was Canada's national purpose-built rental vacancy rate in 2025
— up from 2.2% in 2024, as record rental construction met slower population growth.
CMHC 2025 Rental Market Report
Purpose-built rental apartment vacancy rate by market in 2025, per CMHC's Rental Market Report.
Purpose-built apartment vacancy rate by market, CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report (released December 11, 2025). Vancouver's 3.7% is its highest rate since CMHC began tracking in 1988.
The national rate jumped in 2025: Canada's purpose-built rental vacancy rate rose to 3.1% in 2025 from 2.2% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2023 — a sharp two-year swing driven by historic rental construction.
Calgary is the loosest major market: Calgary's vacancy rate held at 5.0% in 2025, the highest among Canada's largest cities, as strong rental supply growth kept pace with demand.
Vancouver's tightest-ever market has finally loosened: Metro Vancouver's vacancy rate hit 3.7% in 2025, its highest level since CMHC began tracking in 1988, after record rental supply completions.
Affordability hasn't caught up yet: Even as vacancies rose, average 2-bedroom rent still climbed 5.1% nationally in 2025 — landlords are offering incentives on availability, not necessarily cutting asking rents.
| Market | 2025 vacancy rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (national) | 3.1% | Up from 2.2% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2023 |
| Toronto | 3.0% | First time above 3% since the pandemic |
| Ottawa | 3.0% | Newly built units highest at 6.7% |
| Vancouver | 3.7% | Highest since CMHC began tracking in 1988 |
| Edmonton | 3.8% | Over 2,000 rental condos added in 2025 |
| Calgary | 5.0% | Highest among Canada's largest cities |
Purpose-built rental apartment vacancy rates from CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report (released December 11, 2025).
National vacancy rate in 2024, up from 1.5% in 2023 — the lowest since CMHC began tracking in 1988
CMHC
Average 2-bedroom rent growth nationally in 2025, even as vacancies rose
CMHC
Housing starts across Canada in 2025, over half of them purpose-built rental
CMHC
Canada's national average home price at the end of 2025
CREA
Rising vacancy rates are cooling the rental market just as many of your clients' fixed terms come up for renewal or refinance decisions on rental and investment properties. That's a conversation opener, not a threat — softer rents and looser landlord markets change the numbers on refinance-to-invest deals and renewal timing alike. The brokers who flag it first keep the file.
Last updated August 1, 2026. Each figure carries its source; projections are labelled. Page reviewed on every major source release. Information only — not advice.
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