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CMHC reports Iqaluit rental vacancy held at 0.3% in 2025 despite modest supply growth
CMHC’s Northern Housing Report says Iqaluit had only six vacant rental units out of nearly 2,000 in 2025, leaving its vacancy rate at 0.3% for a third consecutive year. The report expects private-market supply to grow in 2026 because units are under construction, but says that growth will not materially close the North’s per-capita housing-start gap. Sourcecmhc-schl.gc.ca↗
What happened
CMHC published its Northern Housing Report on July 29, 2026. For Iqaluit, it reports a 0.3% rental vacancy rate in 2025, equivalent to six vacant units out of nearly 2,000, and a median rent across all structures of $3,025. CMHC says modest rental-stock growth did not meet demand associated with overcrowding. Sourcecmhc-schl.gc.ca↗
Why it matters
The report estimates that nearly one in two Iqaluit households could not afford private-market rent in 2025 under its 30%-of-income measure. It says households need annual income of about $107,000 for an average one-bedroom market rental, $121,000 for a two-bedroom and $142,000 for a three-bedroom. Those measures do not include utilities, food or other Northern living costs. Sourcecmhc-schl.gc.ca↗
What happens next
CMHC forecasts more private-market completions in Iqaluit during 2026 because of units already under construction. This is a forecast, not confirmation that units have opened or that rents will fall. CMHC says the expected increase is not enough to significantly reduce the gap between territorial and Canadian per-capita housing starts. Sourcecmhc-schl.gc.ca↗
Important details
CMHC says social housing made up 93% of Nunavut’s new residential-construction investment in 2025, compared with 6% nationally. It also reports that, as of February 2025, Iqaluit had 36 vacant public-housing units and a public-housing waitlist exceeding 400 households; CMHC says some vacant units required significant repairs before they could be occupied. The report cautions that it uses Nunavut-wide population and income data as proxies for Iqaluit in some measures, and excludes Iqaluit from its construction-cost analysis because comparable cost indices do not cover the city. Sourcecmhc-schl.gc.ca↗
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