Canada’s multi-family real estate vacancy hit a five-year high in the second quarter, rising to 4.1%, says a new Yardi report.

The market continues to show signs of deceleration as weakening demand, slowing rent growth, rising vacancy rates and, now, average length of stay in nearly every province take their toll. But the market’s metrics remain healthy, according to the analytics firm.

The national apartment vacancy rate rose 110 basis points year-over-year, but just 10 bps quarter-over-quarter. Bachelor suites posted the highest vacancy by bedroom type, with bachelor units now reaching 6.6%.

Calgary saw the biggest increase as vacancy climbed by 270 bps to 6.7%. Meanwhile, Edmonton’s vacancy level rose 120 bps to 4.6%; Toronto witnessed a 140-bps rise to 4.2%; and Halifax had a 170-bps increase to 3%.

Former leaders such as Calgary, saw lease-over-lease rents fall by 2.2% during the second quarter.

But in-place rent rose consistently year-over-year across the country. The largest increases occurred in Edmonton
(up 6.6%, or $94 year-over-year, to $1,513); Halifax (up 6.2%, or $93, to $1,603); and Saskatoon (up 6.1%, or $83, to $1,449).

Ontario’s Kitchener–Cambridge–
Waterloo corridor and Toronto had the slowest growth rate at 3.7% year-over-year.

With immigration pullbacks, tariff threats and a cooling labour market reshaping the economic outlook, multi-family housing providers are providing it increasingly difficult to forecast trends, according to the report.