Average asking rents fall annually for 8th-straight month in Canada to $2,129: report

The monthly report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation said Monday asking rents held steady from April, with a 0.1 per cent month-over-month increase.

The national average asking rent in May was down 3.3 per cent from a year earlier at $2,129, marking the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases.

The monthly report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation said Monday asking rents held steady from April, with a 0.1 per cent month-over-month increase.

Purpose-built apartment asking rents declined two per cent from a year ago to an average of $2,117, while asking rents for condominium apartments fell 3.6 per cent to $2,192.

Rents for houses and townhomes declined seven per cent to $2,196.

Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand said rents have eased in part due to a surge in supply with new apartments being completed, a slowdown in population growth and a heightened level of economic uncertainty.

“The easing in rents this year across most parts of the country is a positive for housing affordability in Canada following a period of extremely strong rent inflation lasting from 2022 to 2024,” Hildebrand said in a news release.

The report said average asking rents in Canada are 5.7 per cent higher than they were two years ago and 12.6 per cent above levels from three years ago.

Over the past five years, rents in Canada have increased by an average of 4.1 per cent annually, outpacing average wage growth of roughly three per cent, it added.