Rent inflation continued to accelerate in Canada during November, with the average listed rent for all types of rental units (including apartments, condominiums and houses) increasing 12.4% from a year ago to a record high $2,024. Rents showed no signs of slowing down last month, rising 2.5% from October and 4.9% over the past three months.
Rentals.ca December 2022 Rent Report
Rentals.ca December 2022 Rent Report
1. National Overview
*Totals are reflective of all available listings and not the data listed within individual tables
Average Rents Surpass $2,000 in Canada
Renters active in the market are now paying an average monthly rent that is $224 higher than last year. Compared to the pre-pandemic average three years ago in November 2019, average rents in Canada have increased 10.5%.
Two-Bedroom Rents Increased the Most
Within the purpose-built and condominium rental apartment segments, rents grew the fastest over the past year for two-bedroom units, increasing 12.2% to an average of $2,133. One-bedroom rents increased 8.9% year over year to an average of $1,739, while studio rents grew 6.5% and three-bedroom rents grew 5.6% to reach averages of $1,402 and $2,389, respectively.
2. Provincial Overview
*Totals are reflective of all available listings and not the data listed within individual tables
Atlantic Canada Leads Rent Growth in Canada
Atlantic Canada continued to represent the fastest appreciating rental market in Canada, posting 31.8% annual growth in November for purpose-built and condominium rentals. Average rents in Atlantic Canada reached $1,716 for one-bedroom units and $2,032 for two-bedroom units, the third most expensive rental market in Canada behind British Columbia and Ontario. Average rents for purpose-built and condominium rents rose 16% annually in British Columbia and 15.3% annually in Ontario. One-bedroom rents averaged $2,173 in British Columbia and $2,156 in Ontario, while two-bedroom rents averaged $2,820 in British Columbia and $2,638 in Ontario.
Alberta rents were also up double digits in November (15% year over year), but considerably more affordable at averages of $1,283 for one-bedrooms and $1,618 for two-bedrooms. Quebec remained the slowest growing market for rents with an annual increase of 6.3%.
3. Municipal Rental Rates
*Totals are reflective of all available listings and not the data listed within individual tables
Steepest Rent Increases in Priciest Markets of Vancouver and Toronto
Among major markets in Canada with populations over 1 million, average rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments increased fastest for the most expensive cities, with Vancouver and Toronto rents up 24.3% and 23.7%, respectively. One-bedroom rents averaged $2,661 in Vancouver and $2,551 in Toronto, while two-bedroom rents averaged $3,707 in Vancouver and $3,363 in Toronto.
Calgary represented the third fastest growing rental market among Canada’s largest cities, posting annual growth of 21.9%. Rents in Calgary were substantially less expensive than in Vancouver and Toronto at an average of $1,572 for one-bedrooms and $1,978 for two-bedrooms.
Montreal, which is Canada’s largest rental market, had the slowest annual rent increase among major metros at 7.6%, with rents that have become comparable to Calgary at an average of $1,574 for one-bedrooms and $2,076 for two-bedrooms.
Strongest Rent Increases in Markets that Surround Toronto
Among medium-sized markets, purpose-built and condominium rents increased fastest over the past year in several cities that surround Toronto, including Brampton (28%), North York (25.8%), Etobicoke (24.5%), Scarborough (22.9%) and Mississauga (19.2%).
Markets west of the GTA also recorded strong rent increases, with London and Kitchener rents up 27.9% and 24.1%, respectively. Outside of Ontario, the fastest growing medium-sized markets were found in Halifax (24.2%) and Burnaby (23.6%).
Markets such as Barrie, Hamilton, Lethbridge, and Surrey located farther out from large cities in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver recorded annual rent growth in the 17% to 19% range.
Within Quebec, the growth leader was Quebec City with a 13.8% annual rent increase.
In the Prairies, fairly consistent rent growth was recorded in Regina (13.4%), Saskatoon (12.4%), and Winnipeg (10.4%).
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.
