March 4, 2022

Rental Report February 2022

For the month of February 2022, the average cost to rent Canadian properties was $1,829 per month and a monthly increase of 0.10%. Median rents were $1,700 per month in February, with no significant monthly increase or decrease.

Nationwide

Although average rental rates increased across Canada from January to February, regional markets have experienced their own unique trends over the past year.

Canadian Average Rent and Monthly Average Rent by Number of Bedrooms, February 2022

Rank	City	1 Bed	M/M Change 1 Bed	2 Bed	M/M Change 2 Bed
1	Vancouver	$2,045	1.64%	$2,960	3.68%
2	Toronto	$1,949	-4.99%	$2,690	-0.44%
3	Victoria	$1,766	3.63%	$2,200	3.71%
4	Burnaby	$1,750	-1.02%	$2,387	2.05%
5	Etobicoke	$1,734	-2.19%	$2,324	-0.43%
6	North York	$1,702	4.87%	$2,126	-1.29%
7	Richmond	$1,639	-13.13%	$2,419	1.18%
8	Guelph	$1,617	5.61%	$1,837	3.21%
9	Oakville	$1,615	1.61%	$2,065	6.30%
10	Hamilton	$1,554	2.28%	$1,862	-1.60%
11	Waterloo	$1,519	4.10%	$1,929	6.31%
12	Barrie	$1,495	-2.63%	$2,022	8.07%
13	Montreal	$1,477	-0.09%	$1,877	5.84%
14	Ottawa	$1,463	-6.23%	$1,877	2.21%
15	Markham	$1,455	0.57%	$1,717	-9.12%
16	Kingston	$1,448	5.58%	$1,703	-2.01%
17	Oshawa	$1,445	3.10%	$1,783	-2.33%
18	Mississauga	$1,412	9.64%	$1,754	1.41%
19	Kelowna	$1,403	-8.45%	$1,868	-8.95%
20	Nanaimo	$1,378	-4.48%	$1,501	-13.20%
21	St. Catharines	$1,376	5.18%	$1,702	-6.18%
22	Laval	$1,375	-1.71%	$1,840	12.79%
23	Scarborough	$1,368	7.75%	$1,689	0.50%
24	Brantford	$1,356	0.79%	$1,652	-0.64%
25	Lethbridge	$1,329	1.95%	$1,768	6.58%
26	Surrey	$1,325	-8.79%	$1,840	-3.11%
27	Longueuil	$1,317	85.20%	$1,526	65.30%
28	Abbotsford	$1,308	-0.88%	$1,731	-27.00%
29	Halifax	$1,305	-9.02%	$1,894	9.06%
30	London	$1,298	6.32%	$1,693	-1.54%
31	Windsor	$1,102	3.65%	$1,428	-2.22%
32	Calgary	$1,051	-4.07%	$1,248	4.00%
33	Winnipeg	$1,029	9.12%	$1,280	2.63%
34	Saskatoon	$993	0.91%	$1,191	0.30%
35	Moncton	$980	-0.22%	$1,165	-2.10%
36	Regina	$961	7.27%	$1,151	-2.80%
37	Red Deer	$936	14.31%	$1,137	5.55%
38	Edmonton	$936	-2.49%	$1,235	6.64%
39	St. Johns	$876	-6.30%	$1,110	3.49%
40	Quebec	$762	1.65%	$2,000

Home Types

Rental rates mostly increased across property types, most notably in 1 bedroom duplex/triplex and 1 bedroom houses whose rental rates increased by 9.24% and 11.39%, respectively, month over month.

Townhouses tend to charge higher rents than most other units, with landlords asking $2,211 per month on average in February versus $2,178 in January.
Townhouses increased month over month by 1.52% from $2,178 to $2,211.
Houses increased month over month by 2.70% from $2,149 to $2,207.
Condos decreased month over month by 2.63% from $1,976 to $1,924.
Apartments slightly decreased month over month by 0.28% from $1,796 to $1,791.
Duplexes/Triplexes increased month over month by 2.22% from $1,666 to $1,703.
Basements slightly decreased month over month by 0.21 % from $1,402 to $1,399.
Apartments accounted for just over 50% of rentals for the month of February.

Rent by Number of Bedrooms

5 bed units tend to charge higher rents than most other units; however, we see a decrease in rental prices with landlords asking $3,919 per month on average in February versus $4,211 in January.
1-bed units slightly increased month over month by 0.42% from $1,414 to $1,420.
2-bed units increased month over month by 1.96% from $1,733 to $1,767.
3-bed units increased month over month by 1.84 % from $2,227to $2,268.
4-bed units increased month over month by 3.70% from $2,730 to $2,831.
5-bed units decreased month over month by 6.93% from $4,211 to $3,919.

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 $2.80 / 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 $2,159 per month in February. The lowest rates in Canada were found in Newfoundland and Labrador while experiencing a 3.61% increase in rental prices this month.

Of note, Quebec and Saskatchewan saw rates increase by 4.26% and 4.50%, respectively, and Nova Scotia saw rates decrease by 1.33%.

The leader in overall listings was Ontario with 4,509.

Municipal Rentals

At the municipal level, Vancouver maintained its spot as the most expensive city in Canada, with average rental rates of $2,808 per month in February. The lowest rates in Canada were found in St. Johns.

Toronto, Ontario rental rates decreased by 8.68% , representing the largest municipal decline.

The leader in overall listings was Lethbridge, BC with 501 listings.

Of note, only one listing for Quebec City was obtained for the month of January. Hence, a 44.16% month to month change in average rent of may not be representative of the rental market in Quebec City.

Summary

The average rent in Canada is up 0.10% this month, driven by an increasing rental rate of at least 3% in almost half of Canadian provinces. This shows that the rental market is levelling out after the decrease in national rent prices seen during the months of November and December. Rental rates in Canadian cities, specifically Victoria, North York, Montreal, Saskatoon, and Regina, have increased by at least 4.50% over the past month.

The rising cost of real estate in the Canadian market continues to be a hot topic amongst Canadians. The surging rates in urban centres, such as Vancouver and Toronto, can be accredited to a demand for housing that is exceeding the current supply. And given the prospective increase in interest rates, Canada may continue to see rising real estate costs throughout 2022.

Many provinces have begun lifting their Covid-19 restrictions, with some gearing towards removing mask mandates by the end of March. As we inch towards a post-pandemic world, it is possible that employers will shift from remote working towards a hybrid-model – which may prompt workers to move or return to urban cities. As such, we may see further pressure on housing supply and rental rates as provinces re-open.

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.