A new report indicates that the average asking price in December for rental accommodation in Canada was $2,178 per month, a new record, up 8.6% year over year.
Data released Monday by Urbanation and Rentals.ca, which analyzes the latter’s monthly listings, shows the average monthly cost for a one-bedroom unit in December was $1,932, up 12.7% from last year. same month in 2022. As for a two-bedroom apartment, the average asking price was $2,301, up 9.8%.
Quebec is at the top of the ranking of apartment rents – excluding condominium apartments – which are experiencing the fastest growth. Quebec was the only province to experience faster growth in apartment rents in 2023 compared to 2022 (10% versus 6.9%), with rents averaging $1,953 in December.
The two markets where the increase was the strongest are located in the province, namely in Pointe-Claire – on the island of Montreal – and in Quebec, which posted annual growth of 25.6% and 18.9% respectively. %, in December.
Two suburbs of Montreal rank among the cities with the most expensive apartments in Canada, namely Mont-Royal and Côte-Saint-Luc, with an average rent of $2,347 and $2,316 respectively.
After Calgary and Edmonton, the city of Montreal posted the fastest annual growth in apartment rents in December. Rents increased by 11.3% compared to December 2022, standing at $2,019 per month.
In the country, rents also increased by 8.6% on average over the whole of 2023. This follows an increase of 12.1% in 2022 and 4.6% in 2021. The price of Asking rents in Canada over the past two years have increased overall by 22%, or an average of $390 per month, according to the report.
Traditional and purpose-built rental apartments showed the fastest price growth in 2023, with an increase of 12.8%, with rents averaging $2,076. Condo rentals, with an average rent of $2,340, and house rentals, at $2,354, experienced slower annual growth, at 6.9% and 5.9%, respectively.
December asking rents for a one-bedroom unit in Canada’s two most expensive major cities, Vancouver and Toronto, continued to decline on a monthly basis.
The average price in Vancouver in December was $2,700, 5.8% lower than November, and $2,521 in Toronto, 2.8% lower than the previous month. Despite this, cities still saw annual increases of 4% and 2.6%, respectively.
Alberta is the fastest growing province for purpose-built and condominium apartment rents in 2023, with an annual increase of 15.6 per cent in December to reach an average of $1691.
British Columbia remained the most expensive province for apartment rents, with an average asking rent of $2,500, despite an annual decline of 1.4%. The average apartment rent in Ontario was just under $2,446, increasing 3.7% annually in December.
The report says Canada’s rental market will remain undersupplied in 2024, but there should be more balance, with rent growth expected to be closer to its five-year average of around 5 per cent.
“Demand for rental housing is expected to remain strong, but is expected to moderate somewhat from 2023 due to a slowing economy, fewer non-permanent residents and improved rental activity. ‘home purchases as interest rates begin to fall,’ the report said.