Asking rent in major Canadian cities just dropped for the first time since the pandemic

Some promising cost-saving rent trends are emerging that might make tenants across the country’s largest cities breathe a sigh of relief.

Rentals.ca and Urbanation published their November 2024 rent report this week, noting that asking rent values decreased nationwide.

Big drops happened in larger cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. Unfortunately, smaller markets are still seeing substantial rent increases.

“Rent growth in Canada has been consistently slowing since the summer, with the latest decline representing a sharp reversal from the 9.3 per cent annual increase posted in May,” shared Rentals.ca.

“Asking rents for all residential property types in Canada averaged $2,152 during October, marking a 1.2 per cent annual decrease. It was the first year-over-year rent decline since July 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Average rents for different unit sizes in cities across Canada as of November. Chart from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.

Of all the markets studied in the report, two-bedroom homes saw a double-percentage-digit decrease in Oakville, Ontario (-14.4 per cent) year-over-year. This was followed by Toronto (-9.7 per cent), Vancouver (-9.2 per cent) and Burnaby (-8.4 per cent). Calgary and Brampton both witnessed a 7 per cent dip.

Asking rents for two-bedroom homes in Gatineau (+18 per cent), Halifax (+11 per cent) and Saskatoon (+12.8 per cent) rose the most.

Even with rent decreases, Vancouver, Burnaby and Toronto remain the top three most expensive cities for tenants, where asking rents are several hundred dollars higher than the national averages.

“Average asking rents fell 1.9 per cent month-over-month in October, bringing rents down 2.2 per cent over the last three months, equal to an average rent reduction of $49 per month since July,” noted experts.

Condo rent trends

Some of the most prominent rent declines happened to condo studios (-6.9 per cent to $1,874). One-bedroom condo rents dipped by 3.3 per cent to $2,057, and two-bedrooms by 4 per cent to $2,386. However, three-bedroom condos saw an increase of 2.8 per cent annually to an average of $2,889.

Among major markets, Edmonton, where a whopping 8.4 per cent spike was observed, seems to offer the most rigid conditions for those hoping to rent a condo.

Read the full report here.