In June, the average asking rents in Canada decreased to $2,033, marking a 4.3% drop compared to the same period last year. This decline, the 21st consecutive month of year-over-year decreases, was reported in the latest analysis by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, based on listings across Rentals.ca’s network. It also represents the lowest June asking price in four years.
Although the decline persisted, the pace slowed down slightly, with average asking rents decreasing by 5.3% in March and 4.7% in both April and May. On a month-over-month basis, prices saw a slight increase of 0.2% from May.
Purpose-built apartment rents fell by 3.1% year-over-year to an average of $2,034, while condominium apartment rents dropped by 6.8% to $2,058. The sharpest annual decline was observed in secondary market units like houses and townhouses, which decreased by 7.4% to $2,017.
Provincially, British Columbia and Ontario experienced the largest year-over-year drops in average rental prices at 5.3% each, bringing average asking rents to $2,377 and $2,233, respectively. In Alberta, rents decreased by 4.2% to $1,766, and in Quebec, there was a 2.2% drop to $1,929.
Atlantic Canada saw a significant increase in average asking prices, rising by 5.3% to $2,271 across the region. Nova Scotia emerged as the most expensive province for apartment and condo rentals, with an average price of $2,360. This was attributed to a higher concentration of listings in new buildings and a larger proportion of spacious units in Nova Scotia.
Nationally, two and three-bedroom units experienced the smallest price drops, decreasing by 2.8% and 2.9%, respectively.
