Rent prices on the rise again

• By Mike Heddle
• Posted Monday, Aug 22, 2022 10:12 am

Rent prices on the rise again

After taking a breather in June, rent prices continued to trend upward in July, rising 2.6% in the past month. 

The average national rent price is now $1,934, up 10.4% compared to a year ago, according to data from Rentals.ca. 

That’s just $20 shy of the pre-pandemic peak reached in September 2019.

For single-family homes, the monthly rent was $3,043, a 14.1% year-over-year increase. Rental apartments, which make up the majority of listings on Rentals.ca, averaged $1,743, a 7.7% increase since last year. 

A cross-country look at average rents

At a provincial level, British Columbia once again had the highest average rental rate, at $2,590 for all property types. That’s up 0.6% from a month ago and a 19% jump since last July. 

Next up was Ontario, with an average rent of $2,332, up 3.1% month-over-month and 15.2% since last year. 

Of the seven provinces’ surveys, Manitoba was the only one that saw rent prices essentially unchanged at $1,377. 

At the municipal level, the following are the cities that have seen the largest year-over-year rent increases so far this year:

• Victoria: $2,667 (+27%)
• Hamilton: $2,097 (+26%)
• Kitchener: $2,108 (+25%)
• Burnaby: $2,680 (+24%)
• Toronto: $2,691 (+24%)

Even Red Deer, AB, and Saskatoon, SK—two of the least expensive markets—saw rents jump by double-digits in the past year. 

Higher interest rates and back-to-work impacting prices

The report concludes that rents are facing upward pressure due to a combination of rising interest rates and more people returning back to the office, which has increased rental costs in the...[READ MORE]