Average asking rents fall for 13th straight month to $2,105 in October: report

Asking rents in Canada were down 2.2 per cent in October from a year earlier to an average of $2,105, marking the 13th straight month of annual declines. A duplex shows a "For Rent" sign in the Montreal borough of Lasalle on Thursday, June 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

TORONTO — Asking rents in Canada were down 2.2 per cent in October from a year earlier to an average of $2,105, marking the 13th straight month of annual declines.

The latest monthly report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation says asking rents for purpose-built apartments ticked 0.7 per cent lower to an average of $2,085, while asking rents for condominium apartments fell 4.3 per cent year-over-year to $2,167.

Despite rent prices having come down for more than a year, average asks are still 6.2 per cent higher than three years ago and 14 per cent above pre-pandemic levels in October 2019.

Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand says that in the near-term, the rental market “will continue to face headwinds from slowing population growth, elevated unemployment and rising apartment completions.”

B.C. and Alberta saw the largest declines in October, with asking rents falling 5.8 per cent and 5.3 per cent year-over-year to an average of $2,401 and $1,691, respectively.

Apartment rents fell in all of Canada’s six largest cities, led by Vancouver with a 7.4 per cent decrease to $2,728 and Calgary with a 7.2 per cent drop to $1,851.