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Average asking rents in Canada have fallen back to levels seen three years ago, as April marked the 19th consecutive year-over-year decline, [according to] the latest monthly analysis from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, based on asking rents across the former’s listings network.
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“Rents in Canada are basically back to their level from three years ago,” said Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand. He added that average rents are now down around $100 from a year ago and 7.4 per cent lower than 2024.
Hildebrand says improving affordability “should help bring renters into the market who were priced out in recent years.”
Rent declines were most concentrated in the largest provinces, with B.C. seeing a 5.9 per cent decrease and Ontario rents down 5.2 per cent. Rents rose in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
What a headline. Average rent fell by 5% in the year ending April which is a pretty big decline. It did not fall by 5% in April which had me wondering for a moment if I’d missed some catastrophic event putting an end to life as we know it much more quickly than expected.