Toronto rents dropped again in July amid prolonged softening phase: report

A for-rent and a for-sale sign are displayed on a house in a new housing development in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

A new report from Urbanation and Rentals.ca shows the Ontario real estate market to be declining, with most of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area seeing drops in average rents in July.

The report found Toronto’s rental market to still be in decline. One-bedroom rentals in Toronto are up 0.1 per cent from last month but down 6.4 per cent from last year.

Two-bedrooms are down half a percentage point from last month and down 8.8 per cent from the same time last year.

Overall, average rent in Toronto dropped to $2,593.

Across Canada, the average asking rent for all properties fell to $2,121 in July, down $80 from the previous year, according to the report. It is the largest decline in 2025 and the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases.

“Canada’s rental market is experiencing a prolonged softening phase, with price declines accelerating across most provinces and unit types,” David Aizikov, manager of data services at Rentals.ca said.

“With the seasonal peak now behind us, we expect continued downward pressure on rents heading into the fall.”

Mississauga saw one-bedrooms down 0.6 per cent from last month and a 10.3 per cent year-over-year drop. Two-bedrooms were down 0.4 per cent month-over-month, and a seven per cent decline from last year.

Vaughan’s one-bedroom rental prices are down 1.1 per cent from last month, with a ten percent decline from last year. Two-bedrooms in Vaughan rose by 0.8 per cent this month and 0.4 per cent from last year.

Scarborough is down too, with one-bedroom unit rent dropping by 1.3 per cent this month and 5.9 per cent this year. Two-bedroom units dropped 1.1 per cent month-over-month and 2.5 per cent year-over-year.

Hamilton’s one-bedroom rents dropped by 0.4 per cent this month and 2.3 per cent this year. Two-bedrooms rose by 2.1 per cent this month but decline by 0.8 per cent against last year’s average.

Year-over-year, one-bedroom apartments saw rents drop by 5.3 per cent in Ontario, two-bedroom rents saw a 3.5 per cent drop but three-bedroom rentals in the province saw a growth of 0.7 per cent.