The average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 percent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January, a new report says.
The report by Urbanation and Rentals.ca, which analyzes monthly listings from the latter’s network, said the average asking rent for all home types was $2,188 last month.
The annual growth rate was up from an 8.8 percent increase recorded the previous month. Asking rents were up 0.3 percent month-over-month.
Based on the report, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Canada was $1,915 in April, up 11.6 percent from a year ago, while the average asking price for a two-bedroom unit was $2,295, up 11 percent from April 2023.
Overall, asking rents for purpose-built rental apartments in April increased 13.1 percent compared with a year earlier to reach an average of $2,124. Condominium apartment rents averaged $2,331, up 3.8 percent.
All provinces recorded month-over-month and year-over-year increases in asking rents, except for Ontario where rents decreased 0.3 percent monthly and 0.7 percent annually to an average of $2,404.
Saskatchewan remained the cheapest province in the country to rent in April, at an average of $1,300, but overtook Alberta as the provincial leader in annual rent growth with an 18.4 percent increase. Alberta reached an average of $1,746, an increase of 16.4 percent compared with a year ago.
Nova Scotia had the third highest rent growth at 10.1 percent, for an average asking price of $2,169.
B.C. maintained the highest asking rents at an average of $2,507 in April, increasing 1.6 percent from April 2023.
Average asking rents in Quebec rose 8.7 percent to reach $2,011, while Manitoba’s 9.8 percent increase brought its average to $1,609.
On a municipal basis, average asking rents in Vancouver continued to decline, moving down 7.8 percent to $2,982 last month. While Vancouver rents remained the highest among Canada’s largest cities, the report noted they have fallen 10.7 percent since peaking in July 2023
Toronto’s average rental prices also declined 2.3 percent year-over-year to $2,757 and have now fallen 5.4 percent from their peak in November 2023.
Edmonton maintained its position as the leader for rent growth among Canada’s largest cities, reaching an average of $1,507 in April—a 13.3 percent gain from the same month in 2023.
