March 2019 Canadian Rent Report

Overall, 5 cities saw an upward trend, 8 downward, and 11 remained stable last month. In line with seasonality, these relatively flat to decreasing monthly growth rates are signaling a slow down from the constant monthly price spikes that we’ve seen recently in the Canadian rental market. However, the many double digit year over year growth rates continue to show the large overall demand that exists there. In the top 10 markets, the Ontario province had the most cities with 6, British Columbia followed suit with 3, and Québec had 1.

Notably, Hamilton, Kitchener, and Oshawa were all tied for 9th with one bedrooms priced at $1,200. While Saskatoon was essentially the only city with a significant monthly growth rate of 4.8%, Regina, on the other end of the spectrum, took the cake for the largest monthly decline, down 5.8%.

Top 5 Most Expensive Markets

1.  Toronto, ON saw one bedroom rent decrease a slight 0.4% to $2,260, while two bedrooms remained flat at $2,850.
2. Vancouver, BC one bedroom rent grew 1% to $2,100, while two bedrooms dropped 0.6% to $3,260.
3. Burnaby, BC held steady as the third priciest city, though one and two bedroom prices were mainly flat, settling at $1,570 and $2,240, respectively.
4. Montréal, QC also had a steady month with one and two bedrooms remaining flat at $1,500 and $1,780, respectively.
5. Victoria, BC rounded out the top 5 with one bedroom rent staying flat at $1,390 last month and two bedrooms growing 3.6% to $1,730.

 Upward

–Kitchener, ON one bedroom rent had the largest monthly growth rate in the nation, up 4.3% to $1,200. This big bump also moved the city up 2 spots and into the top 10 markets as the 9th most expensive

–Hamilton, ON also jumped into the top 10 markets with one bedroom rent growing 3.4% to $1,200.

–Barrie, ON one bedroom rent climbed 2.3%, settling at $1,360, and up one position to rank as the 6th most expensive city.

  Downward

–Québec, QC, ranking as the 21st priciest city, had the largest monthly rental decline in the country, falling 5.8% to $810. Two bedrooms saw a significant downturn as well, dropping 4.8% to $1,000.

–Saskatoon, SK took a single ranking dip to 23rd with one bedroom rent falling 4.8% to $800 and two bedroom rent, similarly, decreasing 4.7% to $1,010.

–Edmonton, AB dropped one position to become the 19th priciest city. One bedroom rent decreased 4.2% to $910, while two bedrooms had a slightly more modest decline, down 3.2% to $1,200.