Asking rents for all residential property types in Canada averaged $2,181 in March, rising 8.8% from a year ago. The annual rate of rent growth slowed somewhat from the 10.5% annual growth recorded in February, as rents experienced a 0.6% month-over-month decrease in March.
National Overview
Rent Growth Gradually Easing as Renters Shift out of Expensive Cities
Compared to March 2020 at the official start of the pandemic, average asking rents in Canada increased by a total of 21%, equal to an average annual increase of just over 5% during the latest four-year period.
The three-month moving average change in asking rents was flat in March, decelerating for the sixth consecutive month. The flattening in rents in recent months can be partly attributable to seasonal factors, as well as a recent slowdown in rental demand in expensive markets such as Vancouver and Toronto.
Purpose-built Rents Rise 13% while Condo Rents Begin to Slow
Asking rents for purpose-built rental apartments increased 0.3% month-over-month in March, recording a 12.7% year-over-year increase to reach an average of $2,117. By comparison, condominium apartment rents, which averaged $2,321, declined 2.2% between February and March and posted only a 3.9% annual increase. This was partly due to condominium completions rising to record high levels in Toronto.
The highest annual growth in rents for purpose-built rental apartments was for the smallest and least expensive unit types, with studio rents rising 14.9% from last year to an average of $1,564 and one-bedroom rents up 13.6% to $1,926. Conversely, rents for studio condos declined 0.8% annually to an average of $1,852 and one-bedroom condo rents increased by a modest 3.0% to an average of $2,110.
Larger units represented by three-bedroom apartments, often occupied by roommates, experienced similar annual growth in rents of 10.3% for purpose-built apartments and 7.8% for condo apartments.
Provincial Overview
B.C. Apartment Rents Down 2% Annually while Ontario Rents fall to 10-Month Low
Despite increasing by 0.5% month-over-month, average asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments in B.C. fell 1.9% year-over-year to an average of $2,494, with two-bedroom rents down 1.7% to $2,809 while one-bedroom rents increased 2.7% to $2,227.
Ontario rents for purpose-built and condo apartments declined by 0.9% between February and March, causing the average to fall to a 10-month low of $2,410. Compared to a year ago, asking rents for apartments in Ontario edged up by 0.4%, led by a 2.2% annual increase in three-bedroom rents to an average of $3,018.
Alberta maintained its position as the province with the fastest appreciating rents, posting annual growth of 18.3% for purpose-built and condominium rents, which reached an average of $1,728 in March. Apartment rents in Alberta rose 1.2% month-over-month.
Saskatchewan is closing in on Alberta as the provincial leader for rent growth, with average asking rents for apartments rising 18.2% annually. Between February and March, rents in Saskatchewan grew by 2.7% — the largest monthly increase by province. Despite the recent growth in Saskatchewan, rents remained the lowest in Canada at an average of $1,297 in March.
Municipal Overview
Vancouver Rents Fall below $3,000 for First Time Since July 2022
Asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments in Vancouver declined on a year-over-year basis for the fourth consecutive month, down 4.9% in March to an average of $2,993. Vancouver rents remained the highest amongst Canada’s largest cities, but fell below the $3,000 level for the first time since July 2022. While one-bedroom rents in Vancouver declined 3.9% annually to $2,657, three-bedroom rents rose 4.3% to $4,378. Overall, Vancouver rents declined 0.8% month-over-month.
Toronto rents for purpose-built and condo apartments decreased 0.7% month-over-month and were down 1.3% compared to a year ago to an average of $2,782, representing the third consecutive month of annual rent declines.
Rents continued to increase in Ottawa on an annual basis with a growth of 5.2%. Asking rents for purpose-built and condo apartments in Ottawa averaged $2,198 in March, decreasing by a relatively large 1.1% on a month-over-month basis. Rent growth remained hot in Montreal during March, as asking rents for apartments increased 0.8% month-over-month and 9.3% year-over-year to reach a record-high average of $2,051.
In Calgary, rent inflation was strong in March with an annual rate of increase of 9.8% and a monthly increase of 0.8%, bringing the average for purpose-built and condo apartments up to a four-month high of $2,076. Two-bedroom rents grew the fastest in Calgary, rising 10.8% from a year ago to an average of $2,270.
The strongest rent growth amongst Canada’s largest cities was in Edmonton however, the average asking rents for apartments were 27% lower than in Calgary at an average of $1,507 in March. Three-bedroom rents in Edmonton posted the largest annual increase of 20.9% in March, which were still relatively affordable at an average of $1,904.
B.C. and Ontario Cities Still Dominate List of Most Expensive Rents
The top 25 most expensive small-to-mid-sized cities in March had average asking rents for apartments that ranged between $2,295 and $3,270. The top five were all based in B.C., continuing to be led by North Vancouver, with B.C. also representing six cities in the top 10 and seven cities in the top 25. Sixteen of the most expensive small-to-mid-sized cities were located in Ontario, four of which were in the top 10 with asking rents ranging between $2,526 (Vaughan) and $2,702 (Richmond Hill). Outside of the GTA, the highest rents in Ontario during March were in Kanata ($2,564). Two markets within Greater Montreal made the top 25 for rents, including Cote Saint-Luc ($2,515) and Mount Royal ($2,318).
The fastest-rising apartment rents over the past year in small-to-mid-sized markets continued to be led by Pointe-Claire in Quebec (+31.0%) and Lloydminster in Alberta (+27.2%). Quebec City moved into the third spot with an annual rent growth of 19.8%, while Regina moved up to the fourth spot with rents up 17.0% annually in March. Despite the recent slowdown for rents in B.C., several cities in the province made the top 25 for rent growth, including Langley in fifth spot with growth of 16.8%. In Ontario, the city with the fastest rising rents over the past year was Kingston, with annual growth of 9.1%.
Average Roommate Rents Remained Above $1,000
Asking rents for shared accommodations continued to escalate in March, with the average remaining above $1,000 for the fourth straight month. Roommate rents were highest in B.C, reaching a record-high average of $1,195. In Ontario, rents for shared units averaged $1,089, while Quebec and Alberta had average asking rents of $900 and $876, respectively. Unsurprisingly, the most expensive of Canada’s largest cities had the highest asking roommate rents, averaging $1,416 in Vancouver and $1,273 in Toronto.
You can check out the previous rent reports here
Rentals.ca Data
The data used in this analysis is based on monthly listings from the Rentals.ca Network of Internet Listings Services (ILS). This data differs from the numbers collected and published by the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The Rentals.ca Network of ILS’s data covers both the primary and secondary rental markets and includes basement apartments, rental apartments, condominium apartments, townhouses, semi-detached houses, and single-detached houses. CMHC’s primary rental data only includes purpose-built rental apartments and rental townhouses. CMHC also collects data on secondary market rentals, but this is reported separately.
CMHC’s rental rates are based on the entire universe of purpose-built rental units (rental stock), regardless of rental tenure. CMHC rental rates are reflective of what the average household spends on rental housing and not the current market rents for vacant units. The data used in this report is based on the asking rates of available (vacant) units only and reflect on-going trends in the market. This covers a smaller sample size but is more representative of the actual market rent a prospective tenant would encounter. The Rentals.ca Network of ILS’s data typically provides much higher rental rates compared to CMHC, as vacant units typically reset to market rates when not subject to rent control.
The average and median rental rates in this report can also skew higher than CMHC’s data for the following reasons: the inclusion of larger more expensive unit types such as single-family homes, townhouse units, and large luxury condominium units; the presence of duplicate or multiple listings at the same property and the survivorship bias where more expensive or over-priced units take longer to lease and remain in the sample longer.
Properties listed for greater than $5,000 per month, and less than $500 per month are removed from the sample. Similarly, short-term rentals, single-room rentals, and furnished suites are removed from the sample when identifiable.
Urbanation is a real estate research firm providing market research.
Urbanation provides in-depth market analysis and consulting services to the apartment industry since 1981. Urbanation uses a multi-disciplinary approach that combines empirical research techniques, industry relationships forged over the past four decades, and first-hand observations and site visitations. Urbanation offers subscription services and custom market feasibility studies covering the new construction condominium and purpose-built rental apartment markets in Ontario.
