After rents declined for the first time since 2021 in October, prices slipped even further in November, reaching a 15-month low.
By the end of the month, average asking rents for all unit types had hit $2,139, down 1.6% from last November and 0.6% from the previous month when rents had dropped 1.9%, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.
The year-over-year decline, the report points out, can largely be attributed to the falling of asking rents over the second half of 2024, with rents down 2.8% since July. This declining trend is encouraging for renters who have faced massive rent hikes in recent years, though rents still remain 6.7% higher than two years ago and 18.8% higher compared to three years ago.
“Overall, the recent decline in rents has been very mild and is allowing affordability to improve following a rapid escalation in rents over the past few years," says Urbanation President Shaun Hildebrand. "Declines so far are mainly focused within the secondary market for condos and houses, mostly in BC and Ontario, while purpose-built rents are stable."
Purpose-built and condominium apartments saw average rents drop 0.2% annually in November to $2,120. On the unit level, one- and two-bedroom apartments experienced the most significant declines, with rents for one-bedrooms falling 1.2% from a year ago to an average of $1,921 and two-bedrooms falling 1% year over year to $2,302. But for studios and three-bedroom apartments, rents continued to climb, ticking up 5% to $1,629 and 5.1% to $2,965, respectively.
On average, condo apartment renters fared better than purpose-built renters over the last year, however, with rents for condos declining by 4% to $2,239 and purpose-built rentals climbing 0.7% to $2,102.
Geographically, Ontario saw the largest declines in average asking rents. In its biggest market, Toronto, rents fell 9.4% year over year to $2,640, a 28-month low. Across the Province, rents saw a 6.4% year-over-year decrease to an average of $2,351, up from the 5.7% decline in October. In particular, two-bedrooms drove the dip, with a 7.6% year-over-year decrease to $2,591 in Ontario.
Vancouver also saw some serious declines with a 8.9% drop to $2,888 — a 30-month low. But across BC, rent decline slowed after falling 3.4% in October, posting a 2.3% year-over-year decrease to $2,524 in November, and in Quebec, things remained relatively stable with a 0.4% decrease to an average of $1,969. In the Prairies and Maritimes, however, rents continued to rise, led by a 12.1% increase to $1,361 in Saskatchewan.
Nationally, the volume of listings for shared accommodations also increased, posting a substantial 52% jump from last November. Despite the rise in listings, rent for these unit types increased 3.9% year-over-year to $997, with the biggest growth being in BC where rents rose 4.7% to an average of $1,174, and Ontario, with a 3.8% increase $1,108.
