Affordable rentals: 3% vacant. Luxury: 15% vacant
One vacancy number is hiding two opposite markets.
CoStar puts national multifamily vacancy at 4.75%. Underneath that average, affordable and workforce units are running near 3% vacancy, while high end product sits near 15%.
That spread is the risk map. Workforce tenants renew, stay longer, and keep buildings full through soft patches. Luxury buildings compete on concessions and lease-up speed, and they feel a slowdown first.
For investors, the lesson travels. In both Canada and the US, the defensive multifamily lane right now is workforce housing with durable rents, not top of market product priced on perfect absorption.
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