Occupancy Rate
Learn about occupancy rates in Canadian real estate — how they’re calculated, why they matter, and their role in property performance.
August 01, 2025
What is Occupancy Rate?
Occupancy rate is a measure of how much rentable space in a property or portfolio is currently leased or occupied, expressed as a percentage.
Why Occupancy Rate Matters in Real Estate
In Canadian real estate, occupancy rate is a key indicator of market demand, property performance, and income stability for owners and investors.
How it’s calculated:
- (Occupied units ÷ total available units) × 100
- Can apply to residential, commercial, or mixed-use properties
Understanding occupancy rate helps owners adjust leasing strategies and investors evaluate cash flow potential.
Example of Occupancy Rate in Action
The building’s occupancy rate improved to 95% after a successful marketing campaign filled several vacant units.
Key Takeaways
- Percentage of occupied space in a property
- Indicates demand and property performance
- Impacts income stability for owners
- Used by lenders and investors in evaluations
- Balances with vacancy rate for full picture
Related Terms
- Vacancy Rate
- Allowance for Vacancy
- Property Management
- Operating Costs
- Market Value
6525 Mississauga Road and its surrounding context. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
Property details for 6525 Mississauga Road. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
National average resale-price growth and housing-starts growth, smoothed over three months. The comparison illustrates the cycle; it does not establish how much a price change causes construction to change.
Trailing 12-month starts in centres of 50,000 or more remove the usual monthly seasonality. Ownership combines the homeowner and condominium categories; rental is shown separately.
Six-month averages of provincial starts, expressed at annual rates. The smoothing reduces the influence of individual apartment projects.
The same August benchmark compared with two different starting points. Three-month changes are not annualized.
Average sale prices show the difference in purchase costs across markets. They do not measure affordability relative to local incomes or construction costs.
Newfoundland and Labrador remains above its pre-pandemic sales pattern, but August activity was below last year. Historical lines retain their original release vintages.
Average and median describe different aspects of the same month’s transactions. Both are affected by the mix of homes sold.
Category averages compare different homes and locations; the gaps are not estimates of the cost to upgrade an otherwise identical property.
The five categories shown account for 5,000 of the board’s 5,057 sales. The remaining 57 transactions were in other housing categories.
Monthly observations are not seasonally adjusted. Active listings count properties available at month-end; they are not construction inventory.
Average and median prices share one dollar axis. These unadjusted transaction measures do not control for changes in the homes sold.
TRREB’s 416/905 categories compare the apartments sold in each area. The difference does not isolate a location premium for equivalent units.
5680 Oak Street in Vancouver and its surrounding context. (MCMP Architects)
Ground-level renderings of the tower proposed for 5680 Oak Street in Vancouver. (MCMP Architects)