These Ontario Cities Have Tons Of Vacant Homes & Here's Where It's Emptiest

Although rent prices have dropped within some major cities across the province, there are still places in Ontario that seem to be seeing more empty homes than ones that are occupied.

On March 15, Point2 released a report that revealed the vacancy rates of private dwellings across the country, from new homes on the market to vacation houses. The report was based on demographic and housing data for Canada's 150 largest cities from Statistics Canada.

Point2 found that national vacancy rates in Canada are falling for the first time in two decades, despite there being 1.3 million empty homes in 2021.

The evolution of vacancy rates in Canada.Point2

Point2 also found that 87 of the 150 most populous Canadian cities saw their rates fall compared to rates in 2011.

Of the 60 spots in Ontario that were looked at, Windsor and Stouffville saw the sharpest decrease in vacancy rates from 2011 to 2021.

Changes in vacancy rates in Ontario from 2011-2021.Point2

Here are the five southern Ontario cities that saw the biggest drops in vacant homes:

1. Windsor (-38%)

2. Whitchurch-Stouffville (-38%)

3. Lakeshore (-34%)

4. St. Thomas (-34%)

5. Welland (-33%)

In contrast, 26 other Ontario cities saw more unoccupied residential homes within the last decade, with Sault Ste. Marie topping the list with an increase of 61%.

Here are the top five cities across the province that had the highest increase in vacancy rates from 2011 to 2021:

1. Sault Ste. Marie (61%)

2. Caledon (54%)

3. Burlington (54%)

4. Aurora (51%)

5. Richmond Hill (49%)