The average monthly asking rent for Canadian properties on Rentals.ca in February 2022 was $1,820 per month, an increase of 6.2% annually from $1,714 in February of last year. The high water mark for average rent nationally was $1,954 in August of 2019, the average rate declined to a low of $1,676 per month in early 2021 before recovering to the low $1,800s this year.
Rentals.ca March 2022 Rent Report
Rentals.ca March 2022 Rent Report
1. National Overview
The bottom panel in the chart below looks at the rent per-square-foot in Canada. The line is a little more volatile as not all listings on Rentals.ca have their square footage included by the owner or landlord, and thus the sample size is smaller. The average rent per-square-foot in February 2022 was $2.35, which is an annual increase of 3.5%. While the average rent-per-square-foot for all property types in Canada has fluctuated over the past three years, it appears to be slowly trending upward since 2021.
Annual Change in Monthly Asking Rents
The average monthly rental rate has experienced annual increases for six consecutive months, acknowledging that the September 2021 rise was just 0.03%.
Over the last five months, annual increases range between 1.6% in October 2021 and 6.2% in February 2022. After consistent decreases throughout 2020 and most of 2021, this is a clear indication that the average monthly rental rates are recovering as the country moves forward in the post-vaccine pandemic era.
Average Rent by Built Form and Month
The following chart shows the average monthly rent and annual change in average rental rate in January and February of 2020, 2021 and 2022, organized by property type. The chart includes single-family (single-detached and semi-detached), townhouses (both freehold and condominium tenure towns), condominium apartments, and rental apartments.
Single-family homes maintained the highest average monthly rent among these property types at $2,658 per month, experiencing an annual increase of 11.7% from the previous year’s average of $2,380 per month. Month over month, the average monthly rental rate has more or less stayed the same, moving from $2,652 in January 2022 to $2,658 per month in February 2022. There is more volatility in rents for single-family properties because the sample size is smaller, but also because the range of single-family homes in terms of unit size and lot size can be so wide.
The average monthly rent for townhouses was $2,216 per month in February 2022, an annual increase of 13.8%. Townhomes experienced a 3% increase month over month from the January 2022 average rental rate of $2,149 per month.
Condo apartments experienced an annual increase of 16.1% to $2,269 per month. Month over month, the average monthly rental rate hasn’t changed much, moving from $2,262 per month in January 2022 to $2,269 per month in February 2022. Despite the rapid rent increase, rents remain below the pre-COVID averages from early 2020.
The average monthly rental rate for purpose-built rental apartments has increased annually by 2.1% to $1,657 per month. The monthly rental rate increased by $10 month over month from the January 2022 average of $1,647 per month. Unlike the other three property types, rental apartments did not experience a decline on average during the pandemic, but there were many incentives or other rent inducements offered to attract tenants, including one or two months of free rent.
Average Rent by Bedroom Type
The table below presents the average rent for all property types in Canada for the month of February in 2019 to 2022 organized by bedroom type.
The average monthly rental rate has increased for most of the bedroom types in February 2022, with the exception of five-bedroom units. Five-bedroom units have declined from $3,291 per month in February 2021 to $2,777 per month in February 2022. This is likely due to compositional factors with the sample, as opposed to a significant drop in demand.
The largest annual increase was experienced by three-bedroom units, increasing annually by 9.8% from $2,129 per month to $2,337 per month. Despite the fact that many offices are asking employees to return, the demand for larger units that spiked during the pandemic has not subsided.
One-bedroom units had a rental rate of $1,580 per month in February 2022, up from last year, but below both the February 2019 and February 2020 results.
2. Provincial Rental Rates
British Columbia and Ontario recorded the highest monthly average rental rates at $2,253 per month and $2,118 per month, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan recorded the lowest average monthly rental rates at $952 per month and $1,036 per month respectively.
British Columbia has experienced the largest annual increase in monthly rental rates, increasing by 15.3% from the February 2021 average of $1,954 per month. Ontario has also experienced a significant annual increase of 10.4%. Newfoundland has experienced the largest decline in monthly rental rate, decreasing by 3.6%.
Average Rent by Property Type and Bedroom Count
The following chart shows the average monthly rental rate and annual change in average rent for condominium and rental apartment units by bedroom count for the provinces of Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia, and Ontario in February 2022.
Condo apartments in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec generally experienced annual increases in average monthly rental rates, while condo apartments in Alberta lagged behind. The largest increase in rent for condo apartments was experienced by one-bedroom condo apartments in British Columbia, increasing by 19% annually to $2,291 per month. Ontario was not far behind, rising by 18%.
Rental apartments painted a similar picture, as units in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec generally experienced greater annual increases than units in Alberta. The only rental apartment unit type to decline was two-bedroom apartments in Alberta, which declined annually by 1%. The largest increases in average rental rate occurred in studio rental apartments in Quebec at 19% year over year. Three-bedroom apartments in BC rose by 17% annually.
Market Share by Bedroom Type for Rental Apartments in Select Provinces
The chart below looks at the percent breakdown of rental apartments in six Canadian provinces in 2022 (January and February only) by bedroom type. This data excludes four-bedroom or larger apartments.
Quebec is the province with the highest proportion of studio rental apartments at 18%.
Ontario offers the highest proportion of one-bedroom apartments at 45%, followed closely by British Columbia at 42%
Manitoba has the highest proportion of two-bedroom rental apartments at 46%.
Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia had the highest proportion of three-bedroom rental apartments at 10%.
3. Municipal Rental Rates
Asking Rent and Annual Change in Rent for Condo Rentals and Apartments
The following chart looks at the asking rent and annual change in rent for condo and rental apartments across the most active municipalities in Canada via Rentals.ca listings in February 2021 and February 2022.
Vancouver has experienced the highest year-over-year change in average monthly rental rate for condo and rental apartments, increasing annually by 23% to $2,661 per month in February 2022. This is followed closely by nearby Victoria, which has experienced an annual increase of 22% to $2,106 per month. These two cities experienced rent declines of -6% and -4% respectively in February 2021.
St. John’s has experienced the largest decline in average monthly rental rate, decreasing by 6% annually to $964 per month — but this municipality saw rents increase during the worst of the pandemic in February 2021, so the changes could be due to changes in the make-up of the listings sample. Only a handful of the selected municipalities experienced annual declines in average monthly rental rate, including St. John’s, Regina, Grande Prairie, Hamilton, Winnipeg, and North York.
Vancouver also has the highest monthly rental rate at $2,661. Toronto has the second highest average monthly rental rate at $2,312 per month. Regina and St. John’s have the lowest monthly rental rate out of the selected municipalities, with monthly rental rates at $997 and $964 per month respectively.
Average Unit Sizes by Municipality
The following chart presents data on the average unit size of Rentals.ca listings in 2021 by property type in comparison to the average size during the first two months of 2022.
Single-family homes being rented tend to be smaller, but there is a wide range of offerings and the data can be volatile. Montreal singles averaged just 1,480 square feet year to date in 2022.
In terms of rental apartments, Calgary and Montreal are about 60 square feet larger than Toronto and Vancouver on average. The average rental apartment in Toronto listed on Rentals.ca in 2022 is 704 square feet, compared to 711 square feet in Vancouver.
Comparing the markets, the average condo apartment is about 100 square feet smaller in Vancouver and Toronto compared to Calgary and Montreal. Each of the four markets are showing a higher average unit size for condos in 2022 compared to 2021. The most likely explanation is that there is increased demand for smaller units and those units are leasing quickly, leaving the larger suites on the market longer.
Average Asking Rent By Built Form for Toronto and Vancouver
The following chart shows the average monthly rent per-square-foot for condo and rental apartments in Toronto and Vancouver (three-month moving average).
Condo apartments in Toronto generally had a higher average rent per-square-foot than in Vancouver for all of 2019 and most of 2020. As the average per-square-foot rent steadily declined in 2020, the rate of decline in Toronto outpaced that in Vancouver, as the average rent per-square-foot in Toronto suddenly dropped below that of Vancouver. This has remained the case heading into February 2022, with the average rent per-square-foot for a condo apartment in Toronto at $3.66 while the average rent per-square-foot of a condo apartment in Vancouver at $3.84.
The average rent per-square-foot for rental apartments stayed relatively consistent throughout 2019 and 2020, before beginning to increase starting in January 2021. During this period of consistent increase, Vancouver appears to have steadily outpaced Toronto in terms of their average rents per-square-foot. In January 2021, Vancouver at $3.18 per-square-foot was 4.3% more expensive than Toronto at $3.05 per-square-foot. In February 2022, this difference increased to 8.6% with Vancouver at $3.67 per-square-foot and Toronto at $3.38 per-square-foot.
Conclusion
The rental market across Canada continues to recover, approaching levels comparable to those experienced before the pandemic.Single-family homes, townhouses, and condo apartments specifically have experienced significant annual increases in average monthly rental rates.
As employees return to the office and the population moves beyond the pandemic, Bullpen Research & Consulting expects the demand for rentals to gradually increase. This, combined with supply chain issues, record inflation, increasing interest rates, and a general uncertainty surrounding things such as the price of gas, could continue to push rents higher in the near term.
Ben is the President of Bullpen Research & Consulting Inc., a boutique residential real estate advisory firm.
With over 15 years of real estate research experience in both the United States and Canada, Ben has acquired extensive knowledge on land values, new home prices and rental rates, and macro-level housing trends. Ben has held several positions in Toronto, including urban economist at Altus Clayton, and Executive Vice President at condominium apartment data tracking firm Urbanation Inc. Ben has previously been the keynote speaker at ULI and PWC’s flagship Emerging Trends Conference.
