June 2020 Canadian Rent Report

80% of Canadian cities had flat or negative monthly rent price changes

Overall, only 5 cities were on an upward trajectory last month, 11 downward, and 8 remained flat. As many renters nationwide suffered financial setbacks from the pandemic, rents throughout Canada have been faced with downward pressure post-COVID and this will only continue in the coming months. Landlords will need to price down units and/or offer incentives, like a free month’s rent with a 12 month lease, in order to fill vacancies. 

The top markets: Vancouver rents experience the largest year-over-year decline ever & Toronto prices continue to fall

Vancouver saw one and two-bedroom rents drop 5% and 6.3%, respectively, which are the largest year-over-year declines for this city ever reported (we started tracking Canadian rent prices in 2016). Meanwhile, Toronto rents, similar to last month, continued the trend of being down on all fronts with one-bedroom rent falling another $20 to $2,180 and two-bedrooms decreasing another $30 to $2,800.

Top 5 Most Expensive Markets

1.  Toronto, ON rents continued to be down on all fronts with one-bedroom rent decreasing 0.9% to $2,180, while two-bedrooms dropped 1.1% to $2,800.
2. Vancouver, BC one and two-bedroom rents both stayed flat at $2,100 and $3,000, respectively. Notably on a year-over-year basis, two-bedroom rent is down over 6%.
3. Burnaby, BC saw one-bedroom rent drop 1.1% to $1,750, while two-bedrooms decreased 1.3% to $2,300.
4. Victoria, BC continued to rank as the 4th priciest city with one and two-bedroom rents both staying stable at $1,600 and $2,000, respectively. Though flat on a monthly basis, Victoria rents are up over 15% since this time last year.
5. Barrie, ON rounded off the top 5 markets with one-bedroom rent declining 2.6% to $1,490, while two-bedrooms dipped 3% to $1,590.

Cities with The Largest Monthly Changes

Upward

–Windsor, ON moved up 1 spot to become the 19th most expensive city with one-bedroom rent jumping 5.5%, which was the largest monthly rental growth rate in the nation, to $960. On a year-over-year basis, both one and two-bedroom rents in this city are up over 15% as well.

–Québec, QC saw one-bedroom rent climb 4.7%, settling at $890, and up 1 position to rank as the 22nd priciest. Notably, two-bedroom rent in this city is up 15.7% since this time last year.

–St. John’s, NL was the 24th most expensive market with one-bedroom rent growing 3.6% to $860 last month. Two-bedrooms increased 2.2% to $910.

Downward

–London, ON one-bedroom rent continued to rank as the 14th priciest but it had the biggest monthly drop, falling 3.3% to $1,160.

–Kitchener, ON was the 10th most expensive city and saw one-bedroom rent fall 2.2% to $1,350, while two-bedrooms decreased 2.4% to $1,600.

–Hamilton, ON, similar to Kitchener, ranked as the 10th priciest market and saw one-bedroom rent decline 2.2% last month to $1,350.