Report: Average Canadian rental price hits new high for sixth straight month
The average asking price for a rental unit in Canada reached $2,178 last month, an increase of 9.9 per cent year-over-year and continuing a trend that has seen asking rents rise to new highs for six months in a row.
That’s according to the latest rental price report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, which analyzes monthly listings from the former’s network. The results show that although Canada’s annual rate of rent growth for October was down from the 11.1 per cent jump in September, it still represented the second-fastest annual increase over the past seven months.
On a monthly basis, average asking rents rose 1.4 percent in October, down slightly from the monthly gains of 1.5 percent in September and 1.8 percent in August, which were attributed to seasonal factors.
The average cost of a one-bedroom unit in October was $1,906, up 14 percent from the same month in 2022, while the average asking price for a two-bedroom unit was $2,255, up 11.8 percent year over year, according to the report. .
Vancouver once again led the way as Canada’s most expensive city for renters, with a one-bedroom unit averaging $2,872 and two-bedroom apartments at $3,777 — both down from asking prices in September, but up 6.7 percent. percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. On an annual basis.
Toronto was the next highest-ranking major city at $2,607 for a one-bedroom apartment and $3,424 for a two-bedroom apartment.
Rent inflation in Canada is driven by price increases in Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia, in part due to strong population growth and large infusions of new rental supply at above-average market rental prices, the report said.
“I get asked all the time: How can people afford this?” “The answer is they are not,” Rentals.ca spokesman Giacomo Ladas said.
“Rents are so high that people have almost no options. They are desperate for affordable rentals.”
Calgary topped the list when measured by annual rental growth for apartments outside Canada’s largest cities for the ninth month in a row.
Asking rents for purpose-built apartments and condos in Calgary rose 14.7 per cent year-over-year to an average of $2,093, while Montreal came in second with annual rent growth of 10.2 per cent, averaging $2,046 in October. , the data appears.
“We can say that’s because there’s a lot of inter-provincial migration, where people are leaving areas like Ontario and British Columbia and looking for affordable rentals, and going to places like Calgary,” Ladas said.
He noted that one of the main factors driving rental prices higher is the trend of fewer people looking to become homeowners, given the ongoing climate of high interest rates. He added that a third of Canadian households are renters, a rate that is growing at twice the rate of homeowners.
“People aren’t getting out and into the homeownership market because they can’t afford it with these rates,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2023.
Sammy Hodes, The Canadian Press
