Photo: James Bombales
Sky-high rents in Toronto and Vancouver dominate much of the national discussion, but rental-housing costs continue to vary widely across Canada.
Look no further than the latest monthly report from rentals.ca to see just how wide of a gap there is between the most- and least-expensive markets in the country.
According to the report, the priciest average rent for a one-bedroom home is in Toronto, where landlords were asking an average of $2,266 a month in June, up 1.6 percent from the previous month.
That’s $1,441 more than the cheapest rental market: the average one-bedroom rent in Gatineau, Quebec, was $825 per month, having decreased 10.6 percent from May.
It was one of just six markets to see month-over-month one-bedroom rent declines out of all 33 included in the study.
“With children out of school and university students moving back home, June is a prime month for rental listings and rental demand,” writes Ben Myers, founder of Bullpen Consulting and author of the rentals.ca report.
The average for all rental listings Canada-wide was $1,953 per month, an increase of 1.9 percent.
“The average rental rate in Canada for all property types increased for the second consecutive month,” he continues, noting that the rate did however decline for purpose-built rentals in particular.
The averages in the report are based on rentals.ca listings, which range from basement apartments all the way up to high-rise condos and houses. Rentals.ca doesn’t automatically aggregate listings from websites such as Craigslist.
Instead, researchers work with landlords to verify listings.
“As affordability continues to be a concern, the average size of units offered for rent is shrinking nationally, from over 1,000 square feet in October 2018 to 933 square feet in June 2019,” Myers notes.
See how rents in your city compare on the infographic below:
