Author: Rentals.ca & Urbanation

Asking rents for all residential property types in Canada declined to a 15-month low of $2,139 in November. Rents fell 1.6% on an annual basis in November, which followed a 1.2% decrease in October.


National Overview

 

 

Rents in Canada Decline to 15-Month Low

 

Asking rents for all residential property types in Canada declined to a 15-month low of $2,139 in November. Rents fell 1.6% on an annual basis in November, which followed a 1.2% decrease in October.

Despite the recent dip, average rents in Canada were 6.7% higher than two years ago and 18.8% higher than three years ago. Over the past five years, rents in Canada grew by an average of 3.4% per year, generally in line with the long-term growth trend.

Average asking rents decreased 0.6% month-over-month in November, declining 2.2% over the past three months.


Rent Declines Focused on One- and Two-Bedroom Apartments

 

Average asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments decreased 0.2% annually in November to $2,120. One-bedroom apartment rents fell 1.2% from a year ago to an average of $1,921, while two-bedroom rents declined 1.0% annually to an average of $2,302. Meanwhile, average rents continued to grow on an annual basis for studios and three-bedroom apartments, rising 5.0% to $1,629 and 5.1% to $2,965, respectively.


Apartment rents for condominiums declined by 4.0% over the past year to an average of $2,239, while rising 0.7% annually for purpose-built apartments to an average of $2,102.

Purpose-built rents were up 5.8% from a year ago to an average of $1,617 for studios and grew 5.9% annually for three-bedroom apartments to an average of $2,676. One-bedroom purpose-built rents dipped 0.6% year-over-year to an average of $1,904, while holding steady compared to a year ago for two-bedroom apartments at an average of $2,294.

Condo apartment rents declined over the past year for all unit types except for three-bedroom units, which recorded a 1.9% annual increase to an average of $2,936. Two-bedroom condo apartment rents experienced the largest annual decline of 4.3% to an average of $2,344.


Provincial Overview

 




Rent Declines Accelerate in Ontario

 

The downward trend for apartment rents accelerated in Ontario during November with a 6.4% year-over-year decrease to an average of $2,351, a stronger decline than the 5.7% annual decrease posted in October. In B.C., declines in apartment rents moderated during November with a 2.3% year-over-year decrease to an average of $2,524, a slower annual rate of decline compared to October (-3.4%). Annual rent declines remained minimal in Quebec with a 0.4% decrease to an average of $1,969.

All other provinces recorded annual rent increases for apartments, with growth led by Saskatchewan for the eighth consecutive month as rents grew 12.1% to an average of $1,361. In Alberta, rent growth slowed substantially to a 3.7% annual pace in November from a 10.3% yearly pace recorded just two months earlier in September.


Annual rent declines in B.C were focused on studios (-6.0% to $1,962) and one-bedroom apartments (-4.6% to $2,211), whereas rents grew on an annual basis for two-bedrooms (+0.5% to $2,852) and three-bedrooms (+2.0% to $3,442). In Ontario, rent declines occurred across all unit types, led by a 7.6% year-over-year decrease in two-bedroom apartments to an average of $2,591.


Municipal Overview

 

 


Rents Fall in Canada’s 5 Largest Markets

 

Apartment rents fell over the past year in Canada’s five largest markets, led by a 9.4% annual decline in Toronto to an average of $2,640 — a 28-month low. Apartment rents declined on an annual basis for the 12th straight month in Vancouver, down 8.9% to an average of $2,888 — a 30-month low. Calgary posted the third-largest rent decline among Canada’s largest markets, with a 5.8% year-over-year decrease to an average of $1,959. Ottawa joined in with a 3.0% annual decrease in apartment rents to an average of $2,171, with a similar annual decline of 2.3% in Montreal to an average of $2,001. Canada’s sixth largest market in Edmonton continued to see annual rent increases with growth of 5.7% in November to an average of $1,556, slowing from an 8.4% annual increase in October.

Two-bedroom apartment rents fell 10.2% annually in Toronto to an average of $3,115, while Vancouver’s two-bedroom apartment rents declined 11.4% over the past year to an average of $3,507. Double-digit rent declines in Vancouver were also recorded for one-bedroom apartments (-11.7% to $2,555) and studios (-11.0% to $2,229).

 


Alberta and Saskatchewan Home to Least Expensive Rental Markets

 

Four of the top five most expensive mid-sized markets according to average apartment rents in November were located in B.C., including North Vancouver ($3,222), Coquitlam ($2,979), Richmond ($2,784) and Burnaby ($2,746). Oakville was ranked third with an average rent of $2,917, with other Ontario markets representing the rest of the top 10, including Kanata ($2,662), Richmond Hill ($2,604), Mississauga ($2,568), Brampton ($2,567), and Etobicoke ($2,563).

Windsor ($1,644) was the only Ontario city ranked in the top 10 least expensive small- and mid-sized markets in Canada, with the remainder of the top 10 represented by cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Lloydminster continued as the least expensive market in Canada with an average rent of $1,200, followed by Fort McMurray ($1,302) and Regina ($1,368).

 


Rent Declines Focused in Cities in B.C. and Ontario

 

Saskatchewan led all Canadian cities in November with annual rent growth of 17.6% for apartments, followed by three cities in Alberta — Grande Prairie (+15.0%), Lethbridge (+14.1%), and Medicine Hat (+11.7%). Quebec had three cities in the list of fastest rising rents, including Gatineau (+11.4%), Quebec City (+8.6%) and Pointe-Claire (+8.3%), while two Ontario cities made the rankings: Waterloo (+8.6%) and Sarnia (+7.2%).

Cote Saint-Luc posted the largest year-over-year rent decline for apartments at 20.4%, although largely due to a compositional shift in listings towards less expensive units. The remainder of the top 15 cities for apartment rent declines over the past year were located in B.C. and Ontario, led by Burnaby (-9.8%), Surrey (-8.1%), North Vancouver (-7.5%), and Vaughan (-7.4%).


Shared Accommodation Rents Remain Near $1,000

 

The overall volume of listings for shared accommodations continued to grow quickly in November, rising 52% compared to a year ago. The national average asking rent for shared accommodations increased 3.9% year-over-year to $997.

Provincially, shared accommodation rents increased the most over the past year in B.C. with an increase of 4.7% to an average of $1,174. This was followed by 3.8% annual growth in Ontario to an average of $1,108. Average rents for shared accommodations grew considerably slower in Quebec (+1.1% to $933) and Alberta (+0.2% to $879).

In Ontario, the majority of rent growth for shared accommodations came from Ottawa (+6.4% to $1,045), which is seeing a substantial influx of bedrooms available for rent in new townhouses. By comparison, average rents for shared accommodations in Toronto fell 9.5% annually to $1,196. Montreal also saw a notable decline of 4.1% in asking rents for shared accommodations to an average of $917.

You can check out the previous rent reports here.