It Now Costs $1,296 To Rent With A Roommate In Toronto, $1,455 In Vancouver

Rents for roommate accommodations picked up steam across Canada for the second straight month in July. Rentals.ca and Urbanation reported on Thursday that average asking rents for roommate accommodations in Ontario, BC, Quebec, and Alberta jointly grew by 16.1% over the past year to $971 per month.

Individually, rents for shared accommodations in Ontario edged up 7.1% year over year to $1,009, while in BC, they grew 20.4% to $1,163. In Quebec and Alberta, roommate rents clocked in at $901 (up 23.8%) and $810 (up 14.4%).

Amongst Canada’s major markets, Vancouver and Toronto had the highest average asking rents for roommate rentals in the country in July, at $1,455 and $1,296, respectively.

Urbanation Inc, rentals.ca network

Despite those rises, rents for shared accommodations came at a considerable discount considering the broader data for July.

Thursday’s report shows that the average asking rent across all property types in Canada hit another record high of $2,078 last month, marking a year-over-year increase of 8.9% — “the fastest pace of growth of the past three months.” As well, the 1.8% uptick between June and July was the largest month-over-month increase recorded over the past eight months.

For purpose-built and condominium apartments specifically, rents sailed past the $2,000 mark for the first time. At $2,008, the average rate grew 11.3% year over year and 2% from the month prior.

Urbanation Inc, rentals.ca network

“Rents experienced further upward pressure last month as post-secondary students rushed to sign leases ahead of the fall term, the population grew by a record level, and homebuyers moved to the sidelines as the Bank of Canada raised interest rates to a 22-year high,” says the report.

Citing peak season lease activity, Canada’s open border immigration policy, rapidly rising incomes, and the “worst ever” climate for homeownership, Shaun Hildebrand, Urbanation President, says it's “a perfect storm of factors driving rents to new highs.”

Amongst the country’s largest markets, Calgary and Montreal remained in the top spots for annual rent appreciation, with average rates in those cities escalating to $2,036 (up 16.1%) and $1,987 (up 15.3%) for purpose-built and condominium apartments. Nonetheless, average rent was the highest in Vancouver, as has been the case in prior months, at $3,340 (up 12.2%). In Toronto, average rent climbed 11.5% to $2,849.

Urbanation Inc, rentals.ca network

As well, rents in mid-sized markets in BC and Ontario were amongst the highest in the country, including North Vancouver ($3,556), Richmond ($3,119), Oakville ($3,114), Burnaby ($3,002), and Coquitlam ($2,811).

With respect to annual rent appreciation amongst mid-sized markets, BC’s Richmond and New Westminster snagged the top spots, with rises of 27% and 20.7%, respectively, while GTA markets known for their popularity amongst new Canadians continued to lead rent growth in Ontario, with rents up 18.6% and 18.2%, respectively.