Average rental rates for all Canadian properties in the final month of 2021 reached $1,789 per month — up 3.8 per cent from a year ago, according to the latest report from Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting. December was the fourth consecutive month average asking rents were positive since the onset of COVID-19, which sparked 16 consecutive months of annual declines.

“Average rental rates moderated in December after rents surged following the April market bottom, where rents had fallen by over 9 per cent annually,” said Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research & Consulting. “It is too early to tell if Omicron will have a prolonged deflationary impact on the rental market, but Bullpen Research & Consulting and Rentals.ca still believe there will be significant upward growth in rents in 2022 in Canada’s major markets.”

Vancouver topped the list of 35 cities for average monthly rents in December for both one- and two-bedroom homes. Coming in at $2,176 and $2,983 respectively, these numbers represent an annual increase of 13.2 per cent and 9.7 per cent, and a month over month increase of 2.1 per cent.

Toronto finished second for monthly rents in December with one-bedrooms averaging in at $2,013 and two-bedrooms at $2,715. Year over year, Toronto was up 9.2 per cent for one bedrooms and 11.6 per cent for two-bedrooms. Month over month, rent in Canada’s largest city was down 1.4 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.

The majority of municipalities in Canada, including Montreal, Calgary and Mississauga, saw an increase in average rents since December 2020, while North York, Scarborough, Hamilton, and Edmonton were the few centres that experienced a decline. Regina had the lowest average rent out of all the municipalities with an average of $1,014 per month, unchanged from the previous year.

“December is typically one of the slowest months for rental activity every year, and 2021 appears to be no exception,” said Myers.

Apartment types 

The national average for a single-family home in December was $2,570 per month – an annual increase of 8.9 per cent, but still below pre-COVID-19 highs. (The average rent had declined 9.3 per cent in the pandemic-impacted 2020 to $2,360.)

Condominium apartments experienced an annual increase of 11 per cent to $2,227 per month in December. Condos were hit the hardest during the early pandemic period as some tenants fled the big cities, causing  condo rents to fall by a whopping 18 per cent over the course of 2020.

Meanwhile, rental apartments have not experienced the same levels of increases as single-family homes and condo apartments, increasing annually just over 1 per cent from $1,603 per month in December 2020 to $1,623 per month this December.

For the full report, click here: Rentals.ca January 2022 Rent Report