APARTMENTS . It's getting harder to find a place to rent in the Calgary region.
The fall rental market survey of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. shows the city's apartment vacancy rate decreased to 1.9 per cent in October compared with 3.6 per cent in October 2011.
Increased migration and job gains have boosted demand for rental accommodations, said Richard Cho, CMHC's senior market analyst in Calgary.
Most zones in Calgary saw their apartment vacancy rates decline from last year, Cho said.
Downtown recorded the lowest vacancy rate, at one per cent in October, declining from 2.8 per cent a year earlier.
Vacancies ranged from 1.8 per cent for one-bedroom units to 3.3 per cent for units with three or more bedrooms, said the CMHC.
Rents remained relatively stable, the report found. Bachelor and two-bedroom units reported the strongest year-over-year increases in same-sample rents, both up 1.9 per cent from October 2010, said the CMHC.
Overall, the average two-bed-room rent in Calgary was $1,084 in October compared with $1,069 in October 2010. Downtown had the highest average two-bedroom monthly rent at $1,214, while in October 2010 it was $1,173.
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