However, further upward pressure is expected in the near future
Average asking rents in Canada grew by 6.5% on an annual basis to reach $2,014 in May, marking the lowest proportional year-over-year increase since December 2021, according to a new report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation.
Asking rents also increased by 0.6% on a monthly basis, and by 19% over the past two years, the study noted.
However, “while rent increases have begun to moderate, further upward pressure on rents is expected in the coming months as the population continues to expand at a record pace and home ownership affordability worsens following the recent upward momentum in housing prices and additional increase in interest rates,” Rentals.ca and Urbanation said.
By rental type, one-bedroom units saw the largest annual increase (8.5%) to reach an average rent of $1,770. Two-bedroom properties averaged $2,127. Overall annual asking rent growth for purpose-built and condo apartments decelerated from 10.1% in April to 7.3% in May, settling at an average of $1,944.
By province, Alberta led the way with a 13.4% year over year increase in average rents, reaching $1,521 in May. However, this was still 22% below the Canadian average.
Ontario came in at a close second with 12.4% annual growth to reach an average of $2,409, followed by Quebec’s 10.6% upswing to an average of $1,875.
British Columbia remained the most expensive province to rent in, with a monthly average of $2,468. This is despite its annual rate of rent growth slowing to 5.2%.
