New report releases rental market figures for January
The average listed rent for all property types across Canada was $1,996 in January, decreasing 0.5% from December after averaging above $2,000 over the two months prior, according to a new report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation.
Despite the apparent slowdown, January’s 10.7% year-over-year increase marked the ninth straight month where annual rent growth exceeded 10%.
“Compared to the pre-pandemic average rent in January 2020 at $1,823, rents in Canada increased 9.5%, equal to an average annual increase of 3.2% during the three-year period,” the report said.
The fundamental robustness stemmed from the purpose-built and condominium apartment sector, which saw rents increase by 0.6% monthly and by 10.3% annually to reach $1,923. Of these, one-bedroom units saw the largest increase over the past year (10.1% to reach $1,739), while two-bedroom homes (9.9% to $2,103) and studios (8.7% to $1,426) posted similarly substantial gains.
By market, the greatest annual increases in condo and apartment rent rates were seen in Vancouver (22.9%) and Calgary (22.7%).
“Toronto apartment rents increased 20.8% annually in January, while the remaining three largest cities recorded notably lower annual rent growth ranging between 7.9% in Montreal and 11.5% in Ottawa,” the report said.
Vancouver still reigns as the most expensive rental market in Canada, with rents for one-bedroom units averaging $2,755 and two-bedroom homes averaging $3,732. Toronto saw average rents for one-bedroom units touch $2,471 and two-bedroom offerings reach $3,238 in January.
