CALGARY - The average rental apartment vacancy rate in Calgary has risen from a year ago but rent has also declined, according to the spring Rental Market Survey released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The agency said Calgary’s vacancy rate went from 4.3 per cent in April 2009 to 5.3 per cent in April of this year.

At the same time, average rent for a two-bedroom apartment fell to $1,082 from $1,106.

Nationally, the survey of Canada’s 35 major centres, saw the vacancy rate increase slightly to 2.9 per cent from 2.7 per cent.

“Rental construction and competition from the condominium market added upward pressure on vacancy rates and historically low mortgage rates attracted renter households towards home ownership over the last year,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC, said in a news released.

Results of this survey reveal that, in April 2010, the centres with the lowest vacancy rates were Quebec City (0.4 per cent), Regina (0.8 per cent), Winnipeg (1.0 per cent), and St. John’s (1.1 per cent). At a provincial level, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador posted the lowest vacancy rates at 1.0 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

The centres with the highest vacancy rates were Windsor (12.4 per cent), Peterborough and Abbotsford (6.6 per cent each). The provincial vacancy rate was on the rise in Alberta at 6.0 per cent this April, versus 4.6 per cent in April 2009.

The highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures were in Vancouver ($1,150), Toronto ($1,134), Calgary ($1,082), and Ottawa ($1,061). These four centres had average rents at or above $1,000 per month, although Victoria and Edmonton were very close, at $999 and $994, respectively. The lowest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures were in Saguenay ($522), Trois-Rivieres ($531), and Sherbrooke ($556).