August 12, 2023

Canadian renters have long lamented the increase in rents charged by landlords, but in July these prices reached a level not seen across the country.

Data from Rentals.ca and research firm Urbanation released this week shows the average asking rent in July hitting $2,078. This is nearly 9% more than the same month last year.

Last month’s figures also reveal the fastest pace of growth in the past three months, the organizations behind the data said. They add that the average rent increased by 1.8% between June and July, which represents the fastest monthly increase in the last eight months.

Compared to July 2021, the average asking rent has increased by 21%, or the equivalent of $354 per month on average.

Rentals.ca and Urbanation attributed the surge to an increase in post-secondary students signing leases before the fall, unprecedented levels of population growth, and homebuyers delaying their transaction due to rising interest rates.

“The Canadian rental market is currently facing a perfect confluence of factors that are pushing rents to new heights,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation, in a press release. “These factors include the high rental season, the policy of opening borders to new residents, rapidly increasing incomes and the worst conditions for housing affordability. »

Estate agents reported that some potential buyers had stayed away from the market for most of the year following being scared off by a succession of interest rate hikes, which dented their buying power.

The average price of a home in the country hit $709,218 in June, up 6.7 per cent from a year earlier, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported last month. Seasonally adjusted, it was $709,103, down 0.7% from the previous year. The association estimates that the national average house price will decline 0.2% between 2022 and 2023 to settle at $702,409 this year, before rising to $723,243 in 2024.

Acceleration of the rise in Montreal

These prices keep tenants in the market, but they don’t get much relief either. For the first time, the average asking rent for condominiums and purpose-built apartments exceeded $2,000 in July, reaching $2,008, according to research from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.

One-bedroom apartments saw an annual increase of 13% and a monthly increase of 2.5%, bringing the sum for July to $1,850.

Montreal has seen a notable acceleration in asking rents, but most other markets have grown at a slower than normal pace of late.

The Rentals.ca and Urbanation report also reports an increase in rents being asked by those looking for roommates. In British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, they have increased by an average of 16% over the past year, reaching $971. Vancouver and Toronto top the charts for roommate asking prices, with rents of $1,455 and $1,296 respectively.

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