Asking rents jump 8.6% in December to hit record $2,178 on average: report

A for rent sign is displayed on a house in a new housing development in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)

A new report says the average asking price in December for a rental unit in Canada was a record $2,178 per month, relatively flat from the previous month but marked an 8.6 per cent jump year-over-year.

The data released Monday by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, which analyzes monthly listings from the former's network, shows the average monthly cost of a one-bedroom unit in December was $1,932, up 12.7 per cent from the same month in 2022. The average asking price for a two-bedroom was $2,301, up 9.8 per cent annually.

The report says asking rents in Canada over the past two years have increased overall by a total of 22 per cent, or an average of $390 per month.

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Traditional purpose-built rental apartments posted the fastest price growth in 2023 with a 12.8 per cent increase, as rents averaged $2,076. Condominium rentals, with an average rent of $2,340, and home rentals, at $2,354, had slower annual growth of 6.9 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively.

Alberta had the fastest-growing rents among all provinces for purpose-built and condominium apartments in 2023, with a 15.6 per cent annual increase in December to reach an average of $1,691, while B.C. remained the most expensive province for apartment rents with an average asking rent of $2,500, despite a 1.4 per cent annual decrease.

The report says the rental market in Canada will remain undersupplied in 2024, but there should be more balance, with rent growth expected to be closer to its five-year average of approximately five per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2024.