Rents down in major urban centres across Canada; Oshawa showing small year-over-year drop

Average asking rents for all residential property types in Canada fell by 1.2 per cent year-over-year in October, marking the first annual rent decline since July 2021, according to the latest National Rent Report.

Monthly rents across the country now average $2,152, equal to a $49 reduction per month since July.

The decline in rent growth is mainly concentrated in Canada’s major urban centres, particularly Ontario and British Columbia, with cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Mississauga all seeing decreases.

The trend was also evident in Oshawa, though two-bedroom properties did show a 1.6 per cent spike in October to $2,165 per month, putting in 21st place in the national rankings.

Year-over-year rent for two-bedroom units was down 2.4 per cent from 2023, while the average price for one-bedroom rents of $1,831 per month ranked 18th and was down 1.8 per cent from September and down 0.8 per cent year-over-year.

As usual, major urban centres such as Vancouver and Burnaby B.C. and Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville, Ontario saw rents go down across the board, with the impacts for one-bedroom units most acute in Greater Vancouver, with rents down 9.5 per cent and 9.1 per cent year-over-year for Burnaby and Vancouver, respectively.

Oakville (14.4 per cent), Toronto (9.7 per cent) and Vancouver (9.2 per cent), had the biggest drops for average prices for two-bedroom homes.

Vancouver ($2,610), Burnaby ($2,398), Toronto ($2,380) and Mississauga ($2,308) topped the list for most expensive one-bedroom rentals. Vancouver ($3,430), Toronto ($3,091), Burnaby ($3,062) and Oakville ($2,858) were the most expensive markets for two-bedroom units.

“It is a rare occurrence for rents to decline at the national level. This is happening as the key drivers of rent growth in recent years – a strengthening economy, quickly rising population, and worsening homeownership affordability — are beginning to reverse,” explained Urbanation President Shaun Hildebrand. “As a result, we can likely expect this trend for rents to continue in the near-term, particularly as apartment completions remain at record highs.”

Smaller, more affordable markets continued to experience rent growth in October, according to the report prepared by Rentals.ca and Urbanation emphasizing a shift in demand toward less costly areas.

Saskatoon, for example, saw its one-bedroom rentals jump 16.6 per cent year-over-year to $1,293 per month and one-0bedrooms spike 12.8 per cent to $1,293.

In the purpose-built and condominium apartment sector, average asking rents nationally rose slightly by 0.5 per cent year-over-year to $2,122 in October. Purpose-built apartment rents showed a 1.7 per cent annual increase, reaching an average of $2,100, while condominium apartment rents declined by 3.8 per cent to an average of $2,265. Studio apartments in purpose-built buildings saw the highest rent increases, up 7.4 per cent to $1,622, whereas condo studios declined by 6.9 per cent, averaging $1,874.

The National Rent Report charts and analyzes monthly, quarterly and annual rates and trends in the rental market on national, provincial, and municipal levels across all listings on the Rentals.ca Network for Canada. The report is written by Urbanation, a Toronto-based real estate research firm providing in-depth market analysis and consulting services since 1981.