The national average asking rent in May was down 3.3 percent from a year earlier at $2,129, marking the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases.
The monthly report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation said Monday asking rents held steady from April, with a 0.1 percent month-over-month increase.
Purpose-built apartment asking rents declined two percent from a year ago to an average of $2,117, while asking rents for condominium apartments fell 3.6 percent to $2,192.
Rents for houses and townhomes declined seven percent to $2,196.
Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand said rents have eased in part due to a surge in supply with new apartments being completed, a slowdown in population growth and a heightened level of economic uncertainty.
“The easing in rents this year across most parts of the country is a positive for housing affordability in Canada following a period of extremely strong rent inflation lasting from 2022 to 2024,” Hildebrand said in a news release.
The report said average asking rents in Canada are 5.7 percent higher than they were two years ago and 12.6 percent above levels from three years ago.
Over the past five years, rents in Canada have increased by an average of 4.1 percent annually, outpacing average wage growth of roughly three percent, it added.
Ontario recorded the largest rent decline in May, with asking rents falling 3.6 percent year-over-year to an average of $2,335, followed by B.C.’s 2.6 percent decrease to $2,462, Alberta’s 2.4 percent decrease to $1,745 and Quebec’s 1.8 percent decrease to $1,964.
Saskatchewan led the way for year-over-year rent growth, at 3.9 percent, to an average of $1,386, followed by Nova Scotia at 2.1 percent to $2,284 and Manitoba at 0.1 percent to $1,624.
Apartment rents also fell in four of Canada’s six largest cities, with the other two recording less than one percent annual growth.
Calgary saw the largest drop at 7.9 percent to $1,928, followed by a 6.8 percent annual decrease in Toronto to $2,594 and a 5.9 percent decline in Vancouver to $2,830.
Montreal apartment rents were down 3.3 percent to $1,970, while rents in Edmonton ticked up 0.7 percent $1,561 and 0.4 percent in Ottawa to $2,198.
