CMHC released its 2025 Rental Market Report on December 11, 2025. The national purpose-built rental vacancy rate rose to 3.1% from 2.2% in 2024, above its 10-year average, driven by historically high completions and slower population and economic growth.
National purpose-built rental vacancy rate, %
Calgary
- Calgary’s vacancy rate stayed at 5%, as strong demand kept pace with much higher rental supply.
- Rental supply grew at the fastest pace in decades. Purpose-built rentals expanded by 11%, though mostly in higher-end units.
Across Canada
- The average rent paid by all tenants for two-bedroom units still rose 5.1%, partly because units are repriced higher when newly leased.
- Landlords offered incentives such as a month of free rent, moving allowances and signing bonuses.
- CMHC Deputy Chief Economist Tania Bourassa-Ochoa said affordability is still a challenge because supply for lower-income households remains low.
What it means for buyers and investors
More rentals give tenants choice and help explain why CREB® links slower condo demand to rental supply. Investors buying a condo to rent should budget for incentives and a longer time to lease.
Compared with 2024
Last year’s report put Calgary’s vacancy rate at 4.8%, up from 1.4% in 2023, with the rental stock growing 10.0%, the largest increase since 1990. In 2025, supply grew even faster, by 11% for purpose-built rentals, the fastest pace in decades, yet the vacancy rate stayed at about 5% because demand kept up. CMHC noted that the new supply was concentrated in higher-end units, so it does less for lower-income renters.
Purpose-built rental vacancy rate, 2025, %
Calgary among large cities
Calgary had the highest vacancy rate of the large cities CMHC highlighted. Edmonton rose to 3.8%, Vancouver reached 3.7%, its highest since 1988, and Toronto and Ottawa reached 3%. Nationally, the rate rose from 2.2% to 3.1%, above the 10-year average, while rental condo apartment vacancies also rose but stayed well below purpose-built levels.
Rents and incentives
Deputy chief economist Tania Bourassa-Ochoa said tight conditions in the largest cities loosened in 2025 as historically high completions met weaker demand from slower population and economic growth. Operators responded with incentives such as a month of free rent, moving allowances and signing bonuses. But the average rent paid by all tenants for two-bedroom units still rose 5.1% nationally, partly because units are repriced higher when newly leased.
What it means for buyers and sellers
For renters thinking about buying, a 5% vacancy rate means there is no rush: there is time to save and choose. For condo investors, it means more competition for tenants, so budget for incentives and gaps between leases. Condo sellers compete not only with other listings but also with new rental buildings, which CREB has linked to slower condo demand.
Local angle
CMHC said Calgary’s new purpose-built supply was concentrated in higher-end units. Renters looking for lower-cost units still face limited choice, even with more total supply.
Other cities in the report
The report shows how varied the national picture is. In Montreal, average rents grew 7.2% as lease renewals applied higher increases. In Halifax, rents grew 6.7% despite rising vacancies, and a 29% gap between turnover and non-turnover rents kept tenants from moving. In Ottawa, newly built units had a vacancy rate of 6.7%, more than double the city average, while lower-rent units were under 1%. In Edmonton, more than 2,000 rental condos were added, and condo vacancy stayed low at 1.7%.
What last year’s details showed
The fall 2024 report also found that Calgary’s newer purpose-built buildings had a 7.1% vacancy rate and that the condo rental vacancy rate was 1.3%, with an average condo two-bedroom rent of $1,970. That pattern, with the highest vacancies in new buildings, is consistent with what CMHC described again in 2025: new supply concentrated at the higher end of the market.
