Economic worries and a declining real estate market has some would-be home buyers staying put in rental housing, resulting in sharply declining rental apartment vacancy rates in Toronto.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported yesterday the city's vacancy rate fell to 2.1 per cent this year, compared with 3.2 per cent last year. The drop comes on the heels of a Bank of Canada warning yesterday that some Canadians may lose their homes if the economic crisis gets worse.
"Rising home ownership costs combined with growing economic uncertainty has dampened Ontario home buying activity during 2008, particularly among first-time buyers," said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC regional economist.
