January 2020 Canadian Rent Report

Overall, 9 cities experienced an upward trend last month, 10 downward, and 5 remained flat. Of the top 11 markets, cities located in Ontario and British Columbia continued to dominate in prices. Some notable changes included Barrie moving into the top 5 markets, while Kitchener and Oshawa moved into the top 10.

In the rest of the country, there were still at least 10 cities experiencing double-digit year over year rental growth rates, though that number has come down considerably from the summer months. In terms of a monthly changes, London had the fastest growing rent, up 5.4%, while Abbotsford saw the biggest rent dip, falling 4.6%.

Top 5 Most Expensive Markets

1.  Toronto, ON one bedroom rent remained flat at $2,300 while two bedrooms dropped 1.7% to $2,950.
2. Vancouver, BC saw one bedroom rent fall 2.3% to $2,150, while two bedrooms decreased 1% to $3,000.
3. Burnaby, BC one and two bedroom prices settled at $1,730 and $2,350, respectively. Notably, on a year over year basis, one bedroom rent is up 10.2%.
4. Montréal, QC moved up a spot to rank as the 4th priciest city with one bedroom rent growing 3.3% to $1,550. Two bedrooms decreased a slight 0.5% to $1,940.
5. Barrie, ON also climbed a spot, and into the top 5, with one bedroom rent jumping 4.8% to $1,530, while two bedrooms dropped 3% to $1,610.

Cities with The Largest Monthly Changes

Upward

–London, ON one bedroom rent had the largest monthly growth rate in the nation, jumping 5.4% to settle at $1,180. Two bedrooms had a more modest growth rate, increasing 0.7% to $1,400.

–Kitchener, ON moved up 3 spots, and into the top 10 markets, to become the 9th most expensive city with one bedroom rent growing 3.1% to $1,310.

–Winnipeg, MB ranked as the 18th most expensive city with one bedroom rent climbing 3.1% to $1,000 and two bedrooms increasing 2.4% to $1,280.

Downward

–Abbotsford, BC was the 17th priciest market and had the biggest one bedroom rental decline last month, falling 4.6% to $1,040.

–Saskatoon, SK dropped a spot to become the 22nd most expensive city with one bedroom rent falling 3.3% to $880. Two bedrooms took an even larger dip, down 4.7% to $1,020.

–Victoria, BC moved down 2 spots, and out of the top 5 markets, to rank as 6th with one bedroom rent dropping 3.2% to $1,510.