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Average rents for all residential properties in Canada have reached a record-high of $2,202 per month, with a 9.3 per cent year-over-year increase in May. This growth trend is consistent with the past three years, showing an average annual growth of 9.1 per cent, according to a news release from the National Rent Report. The rental market is strong, with cities like Vancouver and Toronto stabilizing near record highs.
The analysis delivered the following key points:
- Average asking rents in Canada surpassed $2,200 in May, marking a 9.3 per cent year-over-year increase.
- The rental market is entering the peak summer season with continued strength as Canadian interest rates begin to decrease.
- Vancouver and Toronto are stabilizing near record highs, while mid- and small-sized cities are seeing double-digit rent increases.
- All provinces in Canada recorded annual increases in apartment rents for purpose-built and condo rentals in May.
Following is the complete news release:
Average asking rents for all residential property types in Canada increased 9.3 per ccent year-over-year in May, reaching an average of $2,202 per month according to Rentals.ca and Urbanation’s latest National Rent Report.
This rate of increase is consistent with the annual growth rate recorded in April and reflects an average annual growth of 9.1 per cent over the past three years. Despite rent declines experienced during 2020 and 2021, the latest five-year average annual growth for asking rents was 4.7 per cent.
“Canada’s rental market is entering the peak summer season with continued strength,” said Shaun Hildebrand, President of Urbanation. “ Markets such as Vancouver and Toronto that had experienced some softening in rents in previous months are stabilizing near record highs, while many of the country’s mid- and small-sized cities are still posting double-digit rent increases.”
All provinces recorded annual increases in apartment rents for purpose-built and condo rentals in May. Ontario saw a 0.6% gain after recording a 0.7 per cent annual decrease in April, with rents reaching an average of $2,423. Apartment rent growth in B.C. increased from a 1.6 per cent annual pace in April to a 2.3 per cent annual pace in May, with rents averaging the highest of all provinces at $2,526.
Both Ontario and B.C. recorded month-over-month rent increases in May of 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively. Quebec was the only province to record a month-over-month decline in apartment rents during May, dipping 0.6 per cent from April to an average of $1,999, although asking rents in Quebec were still up 6.7 per cent from last year.
Asking rents for apartments in Vancouver and Toronto continued to decline on an annual basis in May, however less than in April. Toronto apartment rents decreased 0.9 per cent year-over-year in May (compared to a 2.3 per cent annual decline in April) to an average of $2,784, while Vancouver rents were down 4.1 per cent from a year ago Edmonton continued as the leader in rent growth among Canada’s largest cities, posting a 14.6 per cent annual increase in asking rents for apartments.
Despite increasing by nearly twice the amount in Calgary (+7.6 per cent) over the past year, Edmonton's average asking rents for apartments remained significantly less expensive ($1,507 vs. $2,089).
Three provinces continued to drive the majority of annual rent inflation for apartments in Canada: Nova Scotia (+17.1% to $2,238), Alberta (+17.5 per cent to $1,787), and Saskatchewan (+21.4 per cent to $1,334). All three provinces saw rents rise by at least 2 per cent on a month-over-month basis. Asking rents for shared accommodations increased 8.4 per cent annually in May across four provinces with listings during May, reaching an average of $992.
The National Rent Report charts and analyzes monthly, quarterly and annual rates and trends in the rental market on national, provincial, and municipal levels across all listings on the Rentals.ca Network for Canada. The data from the digital rental platform Rentfaster.ca is incorporated into this report. Rentals.ca Network data is analyzed and the report is written by Urbanation, a Toronto-based real estate research firm providing in-depth market analysis and consulting services since 1981.