Average rent in Canada up nearly 12% year-over-year to almost $2,000: report

Average rent in Canada rose nearly 12 per cent year-over-year last month to almost $2,000, a new national report has found.

The latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and the Toronto real estate research firm Urbanation shows average rent prices rose 11.8 per cent in October, or $209, compared to the same month last year to an average of $1,976 across all property types.

The data includes vacant single- and semi-detached homes, townhouses, condominium apartments, rental apartments and basement apartments.

This is more than double the 5.6 per cent annual increase in average hourly wages in Canada, the report's authors say.

Average rent in October rose 2.2 per cent from September. It was also seven per cent or $130 higher compared to the pre-pandemic high of $1,845 in October 2019, the report says.

"The unprecedented growth in rents underway is broad-based across Canada, with most markets reporting double-digit annual rent inflation," Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation, said in a news release.

"The rental market keeps getting hotter with each interest rate increase, coupled with a record high increase in the population. The need to ramp up rental supply has never been greater."

Vancouver topped a list of 35 cities with an average monthly rent in October of $2,576 for a one-bedroom home and $3,521 for a two-bedroom — up 17.2 and 16.1 per cent, respectively, year-over-year.

Toronto ranked as the second most expensive city to rent at $2,478 for a one-bedroom and $3,319 for a two-bedroom. Both were up 23.7 and 23.8 per cent, respectively, compared to the same month in 2021.

Among the next most expensive cities on the list were Burnaby, B.C.; Etobicoke, Ont.; Burlington, Ont.; Victoria, B.C.; and Oakville, Ont.

Grande Prairie, Alta., had the cheapest rent out of the 35 cities analyzed for the report at $968 for a one-bedroom and $1,173 for a two-bedroom, both of which were up eight and 9.7 per cent, respectively, year-over-year.

The ranking is based on the average cost of a one-bedroom unit.

The news comes as the Bank of Canada has tried to control rising inflation this year through interest rate increases — hiking its overnight rate target six consecutive times since March.

After falling consistently throughout 2020, the report shows that average rent prices started to rise in spring 2021 and began to see year-over-year increases by fall 2021.

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