Asking rents for all residential property types in Canada reached another record high in January 2024, increasing 10.0% annually to an average of $2,196. Rents increased 0.8% month-over-month, pushing the annual rate of rent growth to a four-month high.
February 2024 Rentals.ca Report
February 2024 Rentals.ca Report
1. National Overview
Asking Rents Up 10% Annually in January to Hit Another Record High
Compared to January 2020, before the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, average asking rents in Canada have increased by 20% or $373 per month.
Purpose-built Rents Rise by Nearly 14%
By property type, average asking rents for traditional purpose-built rental apartments increased fastest over the past year, rising 13.5% to $2,107. Condominium rentals, which were relatively more expensive and generally newer than most purpose-built rentals, averaged $2,372 in January, rising 4.1% annually. Asking rents for house rentals increased 5.6% year-over-year to an average of $2,352.
One-Bedroom Apartment Rents Increased 13%
Asking rents for purpose-built and condominium rentals increased 11.6% in January 2024 to reach a record-high average of $2,146.
One-bedroom apartments continued to experience the fastest annual growth at 12.6% in January, compared to two-bedroom asking rents increasing by 11.0% over the past year to an average of $2,334 for purpose-built and condominium rentals. Three-bedroom rents averaged $2,638 and increased 11.6% from a year ago, while studio rents increased 11.8% annually to an average of $1,595.
2. Provincial Overview
Nova Scotia, Alberta and Saskatchewan Lead Rent Growth
British Columbia maintained its position as the most expensive province with average asking rents of $2,529 for purpose-built and condominium apartments in January. However, annual rent growth in B.C. was slowest among all provinces at 2.3%, including a 3.8% increase in one-bedroom rents to an average of $2,245 and a 1.0% increase in two-bedroom rents to an average of $2,797. In Ontario, asking rents grew 4.9% annually to an average of $2,456, with one-bedroom rents up 5.1% to an average of $2,239 and two-bedroom rents up 5.3% to an average of $2,711.
Annual rent inflation for purpose-built and condominium rentals in January was highest in Nova Scotia (19.1%), Alberta (17.8%), and Saskatchewan (17.5%). Nova Scotia’s average asking rents reached a record $2,210, while average asking rents were relatively more affordable in Alberta and Saskatchewan at $1,690 and $1,277, respectively.
3. Municipal Overview
Edmonton Sees Fastest Rent Growth Among Canada’s Largest Cities
Among Canada’s largest cities, Vancouver maintained its position as the most expensive with an average asking rent of $3,055 for purpose-built and condominium rentals. However, compared to a year earlier, rents in Vancouver decreased by 3.0%. In Toronto, average asking rents for purpose-built and condominium rentals increased by only 2.4% over the past year to $2,830. By comparison, Ottawa rents were up 9.1% year-over-year to an average of $2,219, driven by an 11.1% increase in two-bedroom rents to an average of $2,500.
Edmonton overtook Calgary as the leader in rent inflation among Canada’s largest markets, posting a 17.1% annual increase to an average of $1,479 for purpose-built and condominium rentals. Calgary rents continued to grow strongly in January, rising 12.8% annually to an average of $2,047.
Top 10 Most Expensive Markets Located in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto
Among small- and medium-sized markets in Canada, the four most expensive for purpose-built and condominium rentals were located in Greater Vancouver during January, including North Vancouver ($3,208), Burnaby ($2,970), Coquitlam ($2,840), and Richmond ($2,837). The small- and medium-sized markets ranking fifth through tenth for most expensive were all located in the Greater Toronto Area, including Richmond Hill ($2,789), Etobicoke ($2,629), Markham ($2,615), North York ($2,614), Mississauga ($2,605), and Vaughan ($2,603).
Lloydminster, which straddles the Alberta and Saskatchewan border, had the fastest annual rate of rent growth in January for purpose-built and condominium rentals at 24.8%, with affordable asking rents averaging $1,118. This was followed by 23.3% annual growth for asking rents in Pointe-Claire, a municipality within Greater Montreal, which reached an average of $2,074. In third spot, Quebec City posted annual growth of 20.2% for purpose-built and condominium asking rents, rising to an average of $1,556.
Roommate Rents Reach Record High of Over $1,000
Across four provinces in Canada, average asking rents for shared accommodations increased 18.5% annually to a record high of $1,010 in January. B.C. led with roommate rents averaging $1,158, closely followed by Ontario roommate rents averaging $1,109. In Quebec and Alberta, shared accommodations had average asking rents of $913 and $871, respectively.
Roommate asking rents were highest in Vancouver and Toronto at $1,338 and $1,311, respectively. This was followed by Ottawa ($988), Montreal ($949) and Calgary ($906).
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.
