January 7, 2022

Rental Report December 2021

For the month of December 2021, the average cost to rent Canadian properties was $1,804 per month and a monthly decrease of 0.41%. Median rents were $ 1,700 per month in December, with no significant monthly increase or decrease.

Nationwide

Although average rental rates decreased across Canada from November to December, regional markets have experienced their own unique trends over the past year. Of note, 2-bed rentals in Laval, QC were listed at 38.46% higher on average in December versus November.

Home Types

Rental rates mostly decreased across most property types except for condos, where 3 bedroom condo rental rates decreased by 18.11% month over month.

Townhouses tend to charge higher rents than most other units, with landlords asking $2,248 per month on average in December versus $2,255 in November.
Townhouses decreased month over month by 1.16% from $2,224 to $2,198.
Houses decreased month over month by 2.21% from $2,196 to $2,147.
Condos decreased month over month by 1.14% from $1,995 to $1,972.
Apartments decreased month over month by 0.31% from $1,720 to $1,715.
Duplexes/Triplexes increased month over month by 4.38% from $1,613 to $1,684.
Basements decreased month over month by 1.29 % from $1,400 to $1,418.
Apartments accounted for more than 50% of rentals for the month of December.

Rent by Number of Bedrooms

5 bed units tend to charge higher rents than most other units, with landlords asking $3,674 per month on average in December versus $3,760 in November.
1-bed units decreased month over month by 1.35% from $1,422 to $1,403.
2-bed units decreased month over month by 0.84% from $1,749 to $1,734.
3-bed units decreased month over month by 0.54 % from $2,182 to $2,194.
4-bed units decreased month over month by 3.23% from $2,777 to $2,687.
5-bed units decreased month over month by 9.82% from $3,760 to $3,674.

Provincial Rentals

The highest per square foot rental rates are found in Ontario and British Columbia, with large urban cities like Toronto and Vancouver rental rates driving the price per square foot above $2.6 / sqft for condos. Most other provinces had average rental rates per square foot well below the $2 mark, with Newfoundland and Labrador claiming the lowest average rental rates in Canada for most property types.

At the provincial level, British Columbia boasted rental rates of $2,053 per month in December. The lowest rates in Canada were found in Saskatchewan after the 0.13% decreae in rental prices this month.

Of note, Manitoba saw rates increase by 6.14% and Alberta saw rates decrease by 3.21%.

The leader in overall listings was Ontario with 5,375.

Municipal Rentals

At the municipal level, Vancouver maintained its spot as the most expensive city in Canada, with average rental rates of $2,664 per month in December. The lowest rates in Canada were found in Regina.

Winnipeg, Manitoba rental rates increased by 6.14% and Kingston, Ontario saw the largest municipal decline of 10.34%.

The leader in overall listings was Lethbridge, BC with 590.

Summary

The average rent in Canada is down 0.41% this month, driven by a lower rental rate of at least 2% in most provinces. This shows that the rental market is leveling out after last month’s large decrease in national rent prices. We see a decrease in the cost to rent in most large urban centers as the Canadian rental market continues to struggle from Covid-19 and young city-dwellers are looking for their first home. Canadian cities such as Toronto, Victoria, and Edmonton saw rental rates decrease significantly as lower demand for urban rental properties drove prices lower.

This lower cost of real estate in Canada this month could very well be an impact of the rising number of covid-19 cases that we’ve seen throughout Canada of recent. With populated provinces like Ontario now reaching over 5,000 new cases every day and the Omicron variant running rampant in Canada this month, there could very well be a continued decrease in rental prices as we continue this third wave of Covid.

SingleKey Data

SingleKey uses multiple sources of residential rental listings to analyze the rental market on a monthly basis such as Kijiji and Padmapper, giving us a glimpse into the rental market from both small residential landlords and larger property management companies.

SingleKey data is based on 9,855 listings that were scraped during the month of December and 9,686 listings scraped in the month of November. These listings include apartments, condos, townhouses, houses, basements, and duplexes/triplexes, as well as listings with up to 8 bedrooms throughout Canada.

Rental rates calculated in this report are based on data collected from public rental listings on sites, which is a smaller sample size than the universe of rentals in Canada, however we believe it is indicative of the actual rental market and the trends that follow.