Vancouver vacancy rate spikes to highest level since 1980s

• Historic High Vacancy Rate: The vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments in Metro Vancouver surged to 3.7% in 2025. This marks the highest level recorded in the region since 1988, up significantly from previous years.

• Surge in New Rental Supply: A major factor driving this spike is a large glut of new purpose-built rentals (PBR) finally entering the market. Many of these development projects were started a few years ago, incentivized by subsidized mortgages from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

• Cooling Demand and Population Shifts: The rising vacancy rate is also attributed to a sharp decline in rental demand. This drop in demand is heavily linked to a slowdown in population growth, specifically federal policy changes that have led to an outflow of non-permanent residents, such as temporary foreign workers and international students.

What these all means in the mortgage world?

• Banks may classify condo rental mortgages as riskier if vacancy risk is high. They might add rate premium if you're buying condo to invest

• That can affect loan-to-value, or qualification criteria for investors. They lend less % or make it tougher to approve.

  
  

link:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TorontoRealEstate/comments/1r4yqs0/vancouver_vacancy_rate_spikes_to_highest_level/?share_id=CyYk3TgGTX96HuciJcyxk&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=3