Average asking rents in Canada experienced a 2.3% year-over-year decrease in December, dropping to an average of $2,060, marking a full year of declines and hitting their lowest point in 30 months. According to the latest report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, December 2025 marked the 15th consecutive month of decreasing average asking rents across Rentals.ca’s listings network.
Throughout 2025, average asking rents in Canada saw a 3.1% decline, surpassing the drop seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a 5.4% decrease compared to two years ago, rents remain 14.1% higher than pre-pandemic levels in December 2019. Shaun Hildebrand, the president of Urbanation, attributed the rent decrease to a shift in demand and supply dynamics that had previously driven rents up between 2022 and 2024.
Factors such as a record number of completed apartments, a slowdown in population growth, economic uncertainties, and affordability challenges have collectively contributed to the downward trend in rents. Hildebrand stated that rents are likely to continue declining in the near future as these conditions persist, as noted in a news release on Monday.
The report highlighted that the decline in rents was led by secondary market units. House and townhouse rentals saw a 5% drop to $2,071 in December, while asking rents for condominium apartments decreased by 4% year-over-year to $2,131. Asking rents for purpose-built apartments also decreased by 1% year-over-year to an average of $2,049.
Across different provinces, average apartment rents in December dropped by 5.4% in British Columbia to $2,353, 3.2% in Ontario to $2,257, 2.7% in Alberta to $1,671, and 1.9% in Quebec to $1,934. Conversely, rents rose in Saskatchewan by 7.1% to $1,395, in Nova Scotia by 1.8% to $2,268, and in Manitoba by 1% to $1,633.
In Canada’s six largest markets, Vancouver and Toronto experienced the sharpest annual rent declines for apartments, with Vancouver down by 7.9% to $2,654 and Toronto down by 5.1% to $2,498. Calgary saw a 5% decrease to $1,824, Montreal experienced a 2.3% drop to $1,952, Ottawa’s average asking rent decreased by 0.5% to $2,153, and Edmonton saw a 0.8% increase to $1,518.
