National rent prices hit 18-month low in January: report

Condo buildings tower above older two and three-storey walk-up apartment buildings in Burnaby, B.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

TORONTO — Average asking rents across Canada hit an 18-month low in January, declining 4.4 per cent on an annual basis to $2,100.

A monthly report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, which analyzes listings in the former’s network, says it marks the fourth straight month of annual rent declines after 38 consecutive increases.

The report says that despite those declines, average rents in Canada are still 5.2 per cent higher than two years earlier and 16.4 per cent higher than three years ago.

Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand says more rent declines are likely in the months ahead because of heightened economic risks, Canada’s immigration target cuts, and multi-decade highs for apartment completions.

The report says much of the latest decline was concentrated in the secondary rental market, where asking rents for condominium apartments fell 6.5 per cent to an average of $2,219, while rents for houses and townhomes declined 8.9 per cent to $2,144.

Ontario recorded the steepest rent declines, with apartment rents falling 5.2 per cent to an average of $2,329 in January, as the country’s most expensive rental market of B.C. saw a 2.6 per cent decrease to $2,463.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.