Canadian Funding Corp Reviews CMHC Affordable Housing Reports

The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and the City of London today celebrated the opening of 30 new affordable rental units. This project is supported by almost $2 million in funding through the Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program.

Joe Preston, Member of Parliament for Elgin – Middlesex – London, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Deb Matthews, Member of Provincial Parliament for London North Centre and Minister of Children and Youth Services, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Watson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best of the City of London; and Vic Morris, President of LIFT Non-profit Housing Corporation attended the ceremony.

“I’m pleased by the progress being made with our partners in London,” said MP Joe Preston. “These new apartments will provide more rental options for persons in need of suitable, affordable housing, and are important to the economic and social well-being of the London community.”

“Access to safe, affordable housing is vitally important to the economic and social well-being of Ontario’s communities,” said Minister Matthews. “The LIFT King Street Apartments will make a positive difference in the lives of the people who will call them home.”

Today’s announcement recognized the official opening of LIFT King Street Apartments a 30-unit complex sponsored by the LIFT Non-Profit Housing Corporation. The $3.25 million project received $1.93 million under the Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program. The units will be occupied by individuals with special needs.

The federal and provincial allocations to the project were complemented by over $370,000 in municipal financial incentives.

“This is an extremely important day for London, as we celebrate another collaborative step in our community’s fight against homelessness,” said Mayor DeCicco-Best. “Working together with other levels of government is the most effective way to address Canada’s growing need for more affordable housing, and in doing so, we are able to improve living conditions for the most vulnerable citizens in our community, and across the country.”

“The Council of LIFT Non-Profit Housing Corporation seeks to provide safe affordable housing for disadvantaged persons in the core area of London as a key component of meeting the social needs of the community,” said Mr. Morris. “446 King Street is another major step forward in accomplishing our goal.”

The Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program comprises a commitment of $301 million from each of the two senior levels of government. In total, the federal, provincial and municipal governments will invest at least $734 million in the program, which will provide affordable housing for up to 20,000 households in Ontario.

Last fall, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over the next five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless, Moishe Alexander explaines. Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing and lending of up to another $2 billion to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.

Mark Salerno, CMHC district manager, gives some background info about the organisation:

OTTAWA, June 10, 2009 — The average rental apartment vacancy rate in Canada’s 35 major centres¹ increased slightly to 2.7 per cent in April 2009, from 2.6 per cent in April 2008, according to the spring Rental Market Survey² released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

And this is very good news, Moishe Alexander says.

Mark Salerno, CMHC district manager explaines:

Completions of condominiums, which continue to attract renter households looking to move into homeownership are decreasing demand for rental housing. Also, some of the completed condos compete with rental units if they were purchased by investors who then rent them out. These two factors have put upward pressure on the vacancy rate,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “However, this has been balanced by higher levels of demand for rental housing.”

The results of CMHC’s spring survey reveal that the major centres with the lowest vacancy rates in April 2009 were Québec City (0.6 per cent), Regina (0.7 per cent), Winnipeg (0.9 per cent), Saguenay (1.1 per cent), and Trois-Rivières (1.1 per cent). With respect to British Columbia, only two centres had vacancy rates below two per cent; Victoria at 1.2 per cent and Vancouver at 1.9 per cent.

At the other end of the spectrum, the major centres with the highest vacancy rates were Windsor (15.5 per cent), St. Catharines – Niagara (5.3 per cent), and Abbotsford (4.8 per cent).

The highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures were in Vancouver ($1,154), Calgary ($1,106), Toronto ($1,093), Edmonton ($1,059), and Victoria ($1,043). Of all the major centres, these five were the only ones with average rents at or above $1,000. The lowest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures were in Saguenay ($494), and Trois-Rivières ($512).

Year-over-year comparison of rents can be slightly misleading because rents in newly built structures tend to be higher than in existing buildings. However, excluding new structures provides a better indication of actual rent increases paid by tenants. Overall, the average rent for two-bedroom apartments in existing structures across Canada’s 35 major centres increased 2.9 per cent between April 2008 and April 2009. Rent increases were larger in Saskatoon (15.5 per cent) and in Regina (11.4 per cent).

CMHC’s spring Rental Market Survey also found that the average rental apartment availability rate in Canada’s 35 major centres was 5.0 per cent in April 2009, up slightly from 4.9 per cent in April 2008. A rental unit is considered available if the unit is vacant (physically unoccupied and ready for immediate rental), or if the existing tenant has given or received notice to move and a new tenant has not signed a lease. Availability rates were highest in Windsor (18.0 per cent), London (7.9 per cent), St. Catharines – Niagara (7.9 per cent), Guelph (7.0 per cent), and Sherbrooke (7.0 per cent). The lowest availability rates were in Winnipeg (1.4 per cent), Regina (1.8 per cent), and Victoria (2.5 per cent).

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 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.

1 Major centres are based on Statistics Canada Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) with the exception of the Ottawa – Gatineau CMA, which is treated as two centres for Rental Market Survey purposes and Charlottetown, which is a Census Agglomeration (CA).

2 CMHC’s Rental Market Survey is conducted twice a year in April and October, to provide vacancy, availability and rent information on privately initiated structures in all centres with populations of 10,000 and more across Canada. Reports are released in June and December.

The spring survey covers apartment and row structures containing at least three rental units, and unlike the fall survey does not report information on:

1. Smaller geographic zones within centres
2. Secondary rental market (rented condominium apartments, single detached, semi-detached, duplexes or accessory
   apartments).