Affordability and lifestyle perks draw renters to several major cities
As high home prices push more Canadians to rent, mid-sized prairie cities are seeing a surge in interest, drawing renters away from the country’s biggest hubs.
A recent report from RentCafe.com analyzed millions of interactions to reveal Canada’s most popular rental cities in Q3-2024, ranking cities based on listing views, saved apartments, and searches.
Smaller markets outperform
Winnipeg, MB, ranked as Canada’s most sought-after rental market in Q3-2024, receiving the highest engagement score of 100. It also placed second nationwide for favorited listings, indicating that renters find desirable options without needing to revisit their searches frequently.
Saskatoon, SK, came in second with a score of 90.49, driven by a 27% increase in online traffic and a 34% jump in favorited listings over the previous year. Like Winnipeg, renters in Saskatoon tend to commit quickly to available listings without extensive re-searching.
Edmonton, AB, the largest city in the top three, secured the third position with a score of 88.88. Edmonton leads Canada in favorited listings.
Outside the prairies, Victoria, BC, and Ottawa, ON, also captured significant interest, ranking fourth and fifth. Victoria saw a 34% increase in favorited listings and a 17% rise in online traffic, suggesting strong appeal among renters looking for alternatives to Vancouver’s high housing costs. Ottawa, ranking fifth with a score of 86.71, remained popular among government employees and tech workers, despite a slight dip in page views compared to last year.
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Ontario led all provinces with four cities in the top 10, while British Columbia and Saskatchewan each had two. Manitoba and Alberta rounded out the list with one city each in the top rankings.
Regina, SK, took sixth place, scoring 81.24. Despite a 7% drop in traffic and a 29% increase in available listings, favorited apartments nearly doubled. Nanaimo, BC, ranked seventh with a score of 77.03, showing a unique trend where renters prefer saving searches rather than favoriting individual listings.
Kingston, ON, in eighth place, saw a 39% reduction in available properties on RentCafe.com, making it a tight rental market. London, ON, ranked ninth, driven largely by student demand from Western University, with a 28% increase in favorited listings. Niagara Falls, ON, rounded out the top 10, where renters seem to bypass preliminary steps like saving searches, instead committing directly to leases.
Major rental hubs see interest plateau
Major cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal ranked far lower, with Toronto at 20th, Vancouver at 21st, and Montréal at 22nd, according to the report.
In Toronto, the largest rental market in the country, favorited listings ranked 15th nationwide. Most renter interest in Toronto comes from locals, though there is also significant interest from nearby cities like Ottawa and Toronto suburbs such as Mississauga and Brampton.
Similarly, Vancouver ranked 18th for favorited listings, with strong interest coming from local renters and neighboring cities such as Surrey and Burnaby, as well as out-of-province interest from cities like Toronto and Calgary.
Montréal, with a score of 54.59, is the lowest-ranked major city on the list, although interest there usually spikes around Québec’s traditional July 1 Moving Day.
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