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By Liam Verster

1.0% Vacancy Rate

Vernon’s vacancy rate falls as population grows

May 1, 2025 | 6:00 AM

The City of Vernon has again seen very low vacancy rates.

A report to City Council stated Vernon’s private apartment vacancy average rate was 1.0 per cent in October, 2024.

That was down from the 1.2 per cent average rate in the same month the year before, though was up from the 0.7 per cent rates recorded both in October 2022 and October 2021.

“Hopefully [the declinine in the vacancy rate] is a one year blip, but it gives us some insight into the market overall,” John Perrott, Vernon’s Manager of Economic Development and Partnerships, told city council as part of the report presentation.

His report also noted the total number of private apartment units in Vernon fell to 1,711 in October of 2024 from 1,805 the year prior. Rental rates also went up during that period from an average of $1,270 to $1,328 per month.

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The rates were reported as the most recent population estimate showed there were 49,167 people living in Vernon, with the population expected to continue to grow.

“This has been a nice, gradual growth of about 1.8 percent annually since 2011,” Perrott said.

“We’re just about to cross an interesting milestone, where we should be, in 2025, qualifying as a census metropolitan area according to Statistics Canada. This will unlock a lot of new information and data for us looking ahead to gain further insight.”

The data Perrott eluded to included city-specific employment and unemployment figures that account for seasonality, instead of regional, unadjusted ones as currently provided by Statistics Canada.

The North Okanagan has also seen a similar trend in population growth, reaching an estimated 99,8000 people in 2024.

The report was accepted as information at Vernon City Council’s regular meeting Monday, April 28.