Cooling rental market provides window of opportunity for Calgary renters to find deals
CBC
Gone are the days of soaring rents, lineups for viewings and upfront rental application fees in Calgary — at least for now.
Those keeping a close eye on the rental market say this is a good time for Calgary renters to look for deals as move-in incentives return in full swing.
In May, Calgary once again posted the steepest year-over-year decrease for asking rents among major markets, down 7.9 per cent to an average of $1,928 for an apartment, according to the latest report by rental listing company Rentals.ca.
It's the 10th month in a row that asking rents in Calgary have fallen.
"It's actually below Montreal now, it's below London, it's below Hamilton and Kingston. So it's kind of really falling on our rankings, which I guess is a good thing for Calgary renters," said Giacomo Ladas, associate director of communications with Rentals.ca.
He said Calgary is now catching up with trends in Toronto and Vancouver, where rental prices have been falling for 16 and 18 months respectively.
It's a big change from what Calgary renters have seen in recent years.
"There was one point early last year where we were seeing 15 to 20 per cent increases year over year," said Ladas.
Statistics Canada is reporting similar numbers. It recently launched a new program with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to publish information on asking rents for the first time.
The first report said average asking rents — that's the initial price that landlords request for a unit — fell roughly $170 between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.
Jean-Philippe Deschamps-Laporte with Statistics Canada said it's important to publish this information because it provides a much more current look at the market compared to the annual rental market survey CMHC publishes.
"This is relevant and timely information to know. Like, if you're expecting a child, how much does it cost to add a bedroom? Or if you wish to move to Red Deer, [what] does that look like?"
Both Ladas and Deschamps-Laporte attributed the drop in rent to a surge of new supply, mixed with a decrease in demand as international migration slows and Canadians choose to move to smaller centres instead.
With the market shifting, moving incentives have returned in Calgary.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.