New Rental Affordability Study Ranks Canada’s Five Major Centres

OTTAWA, Ontario, October 31, 2007 — Montreal’s rental market is the most affordable of Canada’s five major centres, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)’s new rental affordability indicator. However, this year rental affordability in Toronto is increasing, while it is declining in Calgary and Montreal  and remains stable in both Vancouver and Halifax.

“Affordability in the rental market is increasing in Toronto this year, as the median income of renter households grows at a faster pace than the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “In contrast, the Calgary rental market is becoming less affordable. Although the median income of renter households in Calgary is increasing, job growth and a steady flow of people moving to Calgary are keeping renter demand strong and driving up the median rent even more.”

Although caution must be used when comparing rental affordability across centres, Montreal has the most affordable rental market in 2007, in spite of the marginal decline noted above, followed by Halifax, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.

The new rental affordability indicator is used to examine trends in rental affordability within a centre, and to compare affordability across centres. For each centre, the indicator compares the median income of its renter households against the income necessary to rent a median priced two-bedroom apartment within the centre, using a 30 per cent of income benchmark for rental costs. In general, as the indicator increases, the market becomes more affordable; as the indicator declines, the market becomes less affordable.

The rental affordability indicator is available in the October edition of Housing Now Canada for the following five major centres: Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Halifax. The indicator will be available for additional centres as part of CMHC’s Rental Market Reports, which will be released in December. 

• Subscribe to CMHC’s free electronic Rental Market Reports – Major Centres

• Subscribe to CMHC’s free electronic Housing Now report

As Canada’s national housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) draws on over 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

For more information call 1-800-668-2642.

Information on this release:

Kristen Scheel
CMHC
Media Relations
613-748-4632
kscheel@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Julie Girard
CMHC
Media Relations
613-748-4684
jagirard@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

For regional information contact:

Halifax:

Matthew Gilmore
CMHC
902-426-4686
mgilmore@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Montreal:

Sandra Girard
CMHC
514-283-5075
sgirard@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Toronto:

Jason Mercer
CMHC
416-218-3410
jmercer@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Calgary:

Lai Sing Louie
CMHC
403-515-2991
llouie@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Vancouver:

Robyn Adamache
CMHC
604-737-4144
radamach@cmhc-schl.gc.ca