April rent prices up 9.3%

The average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3% 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% increase recorded the previous month. Asking rents were up 0.3% 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% from a year ago, while the average asking price for a two-bedroom unit was $2,295, up 11% from April 2023.

Overall, asking rents for purpose-built rental apartments in April increased 13.1% compared with a year earlier to reach an average of $2,124. Condominium apartment rents averaged $2,331, up 3.8%.

All provinces recorded month-over-month and year-over-year increases in asking rents, except for Ontario where rents decreased 0.3% monthly and 0.7% 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% increase.

Alberta reached an average of $1,746, an increase of 16.4% compared with a year ago.

Nova Scotia had the third highest rent growth at 10.1%, 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% from April 2023.

Average asking rents in Quebec rose 8.7% to reach $2,011, while Manitoba’s 9.8% increase brought its average to $1,609.

On a municipal basis, average asking rents in Vancouver continued to decline, moving down 7.8% to $2,982 last month. While Vancouver rents remained the highest among Canada’s largest cities, the report noted they have fallen 10.7% since peaking in July 2023.

Toronto’s average rental prices also declined 2.3% year-over-year to $2,757 and have now fallen 5.4% 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% gain from the same month in 2023.