February 2025 Rentals.ca Rent Report

Author: Rentals.ca & Urbanation

The average asking rent for all residential properties in Canada was $2,100 in January, declining 4.4% compared to a year ago to reach an 18-month low.

National Overview

Asking Rents in Canada Fall by Nearly $100 to 18-Month Low

January represented the fourth consecutive month of annual rent declines, which followed 38 straight months of annual rent increases. Overall, average asking rents in Canada remained 5.2% higher than two years earlier and 16.4% higher than three years earlier.

Asking rents decreased by an average of $96 over the past year. However, rents have still shown significant growth in the past few years combined, with average asking rents increasing by $104 per month since January of 2023 and $296 per month since January of 2022.

Purpose-built Rents Continue to Rise for Studios and Three-Bedroom Units

The secondary rental market continued to drive the majority of rent decreases in Canada during January with average asking rents for condominiums down 6.5% annually to $2,219 and rents within houses and townhomes dropping 8.9% from a year ago to an average of $2,144. In the purpose-built rental market, average asking rents experienced a relatively mild annual decrease of 1.7% to $2,070.

Purpose-built rents continued to increase for studio and three-bedroom apartments, rising 0.5% annually to $1,583 and 2.1% annually to $2,654, respectively. Rents decreased over the past year for all condominium apartment unit types, with the largest decreases of 6.8% for one-bedroom units to $2,020 and 6.6% for two-bedroom units to $2,333. Milder rent decreases were recorded for studio and three-bedroom condos.

Studio and three-bedroom rentals have remained in high demand as renters seek out affordable options and shared accommodations.

Provincial Overview

Apartment Rents Fall 5% in Ontario

Ontario continued to lead rent declines in Canada with a 5.2% annual decrease in apartment rents to an average of $2,329 in January. Despite experiencing a 2.6% decline in apartment rents over the past year, B.C. maintained its position as Canada’s most expensive province with an average rent of $2,463 for purpose-built and condominium apartments. Nova Scotia also saw rents deflate slightly with a 0.7% year-over-year decrease to an average of $2,195, while apartment rents in Quebec were effectively flat with a 0.4% annual increase to $1,966. Meanwhile, the most affordable provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba posted annual rent growth of 2-3%.

Annual rent declines for apartments in Ontario were consistent across unit types in the 4-5% range. In B.C., annual rent decreases of approximately 2% were seen for studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms, while three-bedroom apartment rents rose nearly 2% annually. The strongest annual rent growth of 7% was recorded for three-bedroom apartments in Quebec, while the largest annual rent decrease of 8.5% was experienced by three-bedroom apartments in Nova Scotia.

Municipal Overview

Toronto Rents Fall to 30-Month Low

Apartment rents in Toronto declined on an annual basis for the 12th consecutive month in January, declining 7.6% year-over-year to an average of $2,615 — a 30-month low. Calgary experienced the second-largest annual decline in apartment rents among Canada’s biggest cities with a 6.0% decrease to an average of $1,925. Rents in Calgary have declined year-over-year in each of the past six months. In Vancouver, apartment rents have declined for 14 consecutive months, down 5.2% annually in January to an average of $2,896. Rents in Vancouver have dropped by a total of 13%, or $443 per month, since reaching a record high of $3,340 in July 2023.

Relatively small annual declines for apartment rents were experienced in Ottawa (-0.2% to $2,214) and Montreal (-2.2% to $1,986), while Edmonton continued to post annual rent increases in January (+3.3% to $1,529).

In both Vancouver and Toronto, two-bedroom apartment rents declined the most over the past year, decreasing 7.0% to $3,517 in Vancouver and by 8.1% to $3,084 in Toronto. Three-bedroom apartment rents saw the largest annual declines in Ottawa (-5.4% to $2,618) and Calgary (-8.7% to $2,412). As well, three-bedroom apartments were the only unit type in Edmonton to experience a year-over-year decrease in rents (-0.9% to $1,930). Conversely, three-bedroom apartment rents increased in Montreal (+5.8% to $2,771)

North Vancouver is the Only City with Apartment Rents Above $3,000

North Vancouver remained the most expensive city in Canada with an average apartment rent of $3,060 in January, despite declining 4.6% compared to a year ago. Oakville, Ontario ranked second among Canada’s most expensive small- and mid-sized cities with an average apartment rent of $2,802. This was followed by the B.C. cities of Richmond ($2,759) and Coquitlam ($2,744). Westmount, an affluent municipality on the Island of Montreal, was ranked fifth with an average apartment rent of $2,740. Most of the remaining 25 most expensive small- and mid-sized cities for apartment rents were located in the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto Areas, with the exceptions of Kanata ($2,646), Victoria ($2,342), Halifax (2,291), Guelph ($2,272), and Waterloo ($2,254).

Eight of the 10 most affordable cities in Canada based on average apartment rents in January were located in Alberta and Saskatchewan, led by Lloydminster ($1,170), Fort McMurray ($1,312) and Regina ($1,314). Outside of these two provinces, the most affordable cities included Winnipeg ($1,604), Windsor ($1,645) and Quebec City ($1,669).

Ontario Cities See Largest Rent Declines

Oakville led all cities in Canada with annual growth of 12.2% for apartment rents in January, which was caused by a compositional shift in listings toward higher-priced units. Market-driven growth for affordable locations was the dominant factor behind the double-digit annual rent increases in Lethbridge (+11.7%) and Medicine Hat (+11.0%). In Quebec, annual rent growth was strongest in Gatineau (+10.7%), Longueuil (+8.5%) and Quebec City (+7.3%), while rent growth in Ontario was notably high in Sarnia (+9.3%) and Niagara Falls (+8.0%).

Of the 15 cities with the largest annual declines in apartment rents during January, nine were located in Ontario. Richmond Hill (-12.2%) and Kingston (-9.5%) topped all cities, followed by Burnaby (-8.6%) and Airdrie (-8.0%).

Roommate Rents Drop in Ontario and Alberta

The volume of shared accommodation listings increased 42% annually in January to reach a record high, primarily driven by growth in Calgary. However, as supply for roommate listings surged, the national average rent for shared accommodations declined by 5.3% month-over-month and 7.6% year-over-year to $933 — an 18-month low.

Part of the decline in rents for shared accommodations can be attributed to an influx of lower-cost units entering the market. At the provincial level, Alberta saw a 2.7% annual drop in asking rents to an average of $847. Ontario, the second most expensive rental market, recorded the second-largest annual decline of 2.6% to an average of $1,080. In B.C. and Quebec, average asking rents for shared accommodations were unchanged compared to a year ago at $1,158 and $913, respectively.

In Toronto, listings for roommate rentals dropped 9.9% annually to $1,182, with annual declines also seen in Montreal (-7.6% to $878) and Calgary (-4.6% to $864). Meanwhile, asking rents for shared units grew over the past year in Vancouver (+3.3% to $1,382), Edmonton (+2.4% to $763), and Ottawa (+3.7% to $1,025).

You can check out the previous rent reports here