Seniors looking for openings at independent living homes in B.C. won't have as many options as they did last year, a new report shows.
The province-wide vacancy rate for 2016 is 6.3 per cent, down a third from the 9.1 per cent in 2015.
The vacancy rate has declined for the fourth straight year, according to the 2016 Seniors' Housing report released Wednesday morning by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The numbers are worse for homes in smaller communities to the north and east.
Northern B.C. is bunched in with the Kootenays and together they're showing a 3.8 per cent vacancy for 2016, down from 4.8 per cent the year before.
That translates to a total of 2,344 available spaces for the two regions.
"Demographically, the Kootenays have some of the highest proportions of seniors in the province due to out-migration of people in the younger age cohorts," the report said.
"Total population from the centres in other B.C. declined by one per cent between last year and this year."
Two bedroom options are very scarce, showing a two per cent vacancy, followed by one bedroom with 2.7 per cent.
There were some improvements with bachelor options for seniors, with 9.2 per cent available compared to six per cent in 2015.
That drop on vacancy was coupled by an overall increase in rent.
With both rising demand and operating costs, rent rose by 3.1 per cent, CMHC said.
