A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada hit a record $2,202 in May, up 9.3% compared with a year ago and 0.6% from the previous month.
The report by Urbanation and Rentals.ca, which analyzes monthly listings from the latter’s network, said it marks the first time average asking rents surpassed the $2,200 level.
Based on the report, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Canada was $1,927 in May, up 10.7% from a year ago, while the average asking price for a two-bedroom unit was $2,334, up 12.1%.
Overall, asking rents for purpose-built rental apartments in May increased 13.7% compared with a year earlier to reach an average of $2,146.
That was four times the rate of growth for condominium apartment rents, which averaged $2,312, up 3.4%.
All provinces recorded year-over-year increases in asking rents for purpose-built and condo rentals, led by Saskatchewan with a 21.4% gain to reach $1,334.
That was followed by Alberta, where average rents rose 17.5% to $1,787, and Nova Scotia, which saw a 17.1% increase to $2,238. Rents in those three provinces drove the majority of annual rent inflation for apartments in Canada, the report said.
B.C. maintained the highest asking rents at an average of $2,526 in May, increasing 2.3% from May 2023, followed by Ontario at $2,423, which was 0.6% higher year-over-year.
Average asking rents in Quebec rose 6.7% to reach $1,999, while Manitoba’s 10.3% increase brought its average to $1,623.
On a municipal basis, average asking rents in Vancouver and Toronto — Canada’s two most expensive major cities — continued to decline but by lesser amounts than in April.
Vancouver rents were down 4.1% from a year ago to an average of $3,008 in May, while Toronto rents decreased 0.9% to an average of $2,784.