Rental demand in Canada exceeds supply, with average rents rising year-over-year in many cities: Jumper

jumper’s most recent Canadian Rent Report Shows that 15 of the country’s most populous cities have seen their average rents rise on a monthly basis in 2023.

“With the national vacancy rate for rentals below 2 percent, demand in Canada has outpaced available supply, leading to rent increases in most cities in this report,” the rental website said.

The data comes from Zumper’s hundreds of thousands of active rental listings across Canada and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Vancouver remained the country’s most expensive city to rent – ​​with an average monthly rent of $2,600 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,600 for a two-bedroom, $3,800.

Vancouver’s median rent is up 18.2 per cent year-over-year for a one-bedroom apartment and 21 per cent year-over-year for a two-bedroom unit.

Toronto is the second most expensive rental market in Canada, according to Jumper, as renters pay an average of $2,400 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $3,090 per month for a two-bedroom.

Data shows that both apartment types in Toronto saw rents increase by more than 20 per cent over the past year.

Burnaby, B.C. came in third with the average one-bedroom apartment rent rising 14.1 percent year-over-year to $2,350 a month, while two-bedroom units cost an average $3,000 monthly — an increase of 15.8 percent. since last year.

Rounding up the top five most expensive rental markets in Canada, Victoria, B.C., and Kitchener, Ont. The median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in fourth and fifth place was $2,000 and $1,880, and the average cost of a two-bedroom unit was $2,500 and $2,250 per month, respectively.

The report also found that Calgary’s monthly rent was the fastest growing monthly rent in the country. Calgary jumped four spots to round out the top 10 with a 6.1 per cent month-over-month increase in the average rent for a one-bedroom unit. Calgary also had the fastest year-over-year increase in median rent, rising 42.3 per cent for a one-bedroom apartment and 32.9 per cent for a two-bedroom unit.

Edmonton had the second-fastest growing average rent month-over-month, followed by Saskatoon and Quebec City. In Edmonton, the median rent increased 5.8 percent for a one-bedroom unit and 6.2 percent month-over-month for a two-bedroom apartment.

Average monthly rents for one-bedroom apartments declined month-on-month in Kelowna, Barrie, London, Kitchener and Kingston. And although Vancouver, Victoria and Regina saw no change in the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment month-over-month, the median rent for a one-bedroom unit in all three cities increased by at least 9.3 percent year-over-year. growth was observed.

Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project, funded by Meta.