Numerous end of year summary reports indicated that the Canadian real estate market effectively achieved a soft landing. Over the past year and half, the industry has experienced a seismic shift that has brought the astronomical prices of 2017 back down to Earth. Rising interest rates, foreign homeowner taxes and rising household debt have all been strong forces acting on the market.

All of these factors have created an environment where housing affordability measures are at all time highs, and are expected to increase. Many of the top cities in Canada are expected to see rental rates increase anywhere between 7-11% by the end of 2019, and despite the dip in buying prices, rental prices are showing no signs of slowing down.

RentSeeker.ca takes a look at the top 10 most and least expensive cities to rent in Canada.

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities For Rental Apartments in Canada

#1 – Yellowknife, NWT – Average Rent Price = $1581/month

Yellowknife is #1 on the list of the most expensive cities to rent in Canada!

#2 – Vancouver, BC – Average Rent Price = $1507/month

Vancouver comes in 2^nd place for most expensive cities to rent in Canada.

#3 – Toronto, ON – Average Rent Price = $1360/month

Toronto is the third most expensive city to rent an apartment.

#4 – Victoria, BC – Average Rent Price = $1264/month

Fourth is Victoria on our list.

#5 – Kingston, ON – Average Rent Price =  $1238/month

Kingston ranks fifth as the most expensive city to rent in Canada.

#6 – Ottawa, ON – Average Rent Price = $1214/month

Ottawa is the sixth most expensive city to rent an apartment.

#7 –  Barrie, ON – Average Rent Price = $1198/month

Barrie takes the 7^th spot on the most expensive list.

#8 – Oshawa, ON – Average Rent Price = $1153/month

Oshawa is the eight most expensive city in the country to rent an apartment.

#9 – Kelowna, BC – Average Rent Price = $1139/month

Kelowna is #9 on our list.

#10 – Edmonton, AB – Average Rent Price = $1125/month

Edmonton rounds out the list of the top 10 most expensive cities to rent an apartment in Canada

Top 10 Least Expensive Cities For Rental Apartments in Canada

#1 – Thetford Mines, QC – Average Rent Price = $461/month

Thetford Mines is the least expensive city to rent an apartment in Canada!

#2 – St. Georges, QC – Average Rent Price = $478/month

The 2^nd least expensive city to rent an apartment is St. Georges.

#3 – Victoriaville, QC – Average Rent Price = $506/month

Victoriaville is #3 on the list of least expensive cities in Canada to rent an apartment.

#4 – Edmundston, NB –  Average Rent Price = $511/month

The fourth least expensive city to rent an apartment is Edmundston.

#5 – Matane, QC – Average Rent Price = $514/month

Matane is #5 on our list.

#6 – Trois-Rivieres, QC – Average Rent Price = $534/month

The sixth least expensive city to rent an apartment in Canada is Trois-Rivieres.

#7 – Saguenay, QC – Average Rent Price = $547/month

Saguenay ranks #7 on our list of the least expensive cities to rent in the country.

#8 – Drummondville, QC – Average Rent Price = $556/month

Drummondville is the eight least expensive city to rent an apartment in Canada.

#9 – Sherbrooke, QC – Average Rent Price = $588/month

In 9^th position for least expensive city is Sherbrooke.

#10 – Kentville, NS – Average Rent Price = $672/month
Taking #10 on our list of the least expensive city to rent an apartment in Canada is Kentville.

That’s a considerable chill, even for the typically cooler July market says Lauren Haw, Broker of Record at Zoocasa Realty.  “The typical month-over-month decline from June to July is 15 per cent, this year we saw a 30 per cent decline in the same period, indicating an increased velocity in the slowdown,” she says.

The sale downturn effectively yanked on prices too – the average price for all combined home types was $746,218 last month- a 6 per-cent decline from June, though 5 per cent higher year over year. All home segments were impacted, from detached homes sales (with sales down 29.4 per cent month over month and prices down 5.25 per cent to an average of $1,000,336), to Toronto condos (sales dropped 22.3 per cent, and prices 3.46 per cent, to an average of $501,750), to Toronto townhouses (down 29.5 per cent, with sale down 1,84 per cent to $541,144).

However, those numbers look at the GTA in aggregate – some markets are certainly weathering the downward trend better than others. For those looking at renting vs buying, here is an INFOGRAPHIC from leading Canadian rental website RentSeeker.ca showing Canada’s least and most expensive cities to rent an apartment.

To illustrate how various regions are faring, real estate resource Zoocasa has compiled the data into a heat map, indicating the differences in sales and price growth (or lack thereof) per region. Check it out below:

By: Penelope Graham, Zoocasa

Penelope Graham is the Managing Editor of Zoocasa.com, a leading real estate resource that uses full brokerage service and online tools to empower Canadians to buy or sell their home faster, easier, and more successfully.

With so much internal discussion over the last decade or so by economists, investors, and policy makers about Canada’s real estate market in internal debate,  Canada has also been making many global lists of most expensive cities to live, with real estate prices rising and reaching unprecedented levels.

According to Business Insider, Vancouver ranked #3 on the most expensive cities to live in, around the world, with the following caption showing how real estate prices are impacting the economy, both locally and globally.

Vancouver, British Columbia: House prices in Vancouver rose the equivalent of a full year’s household income in only a year; it had a median multiple of 11.8.

In a recent article published on Huffington Post,  RentSeeker.ca presented multiple factors that could impact the Canadian housing and rental markets in 2017,  to try and provide some clarity and insight into various possibilities that can impact the real estate market for the coming months and year.

To provide an overall snapshot of Canada’s rental market, leading Canadian real estate search website, RentSeeker.ca,  published a New INFOGRAPHIC showing the Top 10 Most and Least Expensive Cities to Rent Apartments across Canada.

As expected Vancouver and Toronto are listed in the Top 10 Most Expensive Cities to Rent in RentSeeker.ca’s New INFOGRAPHIC with average rent costs for a 1 bedroom apartment in Vancouver showing at $1,159 (while the real-time asking price for many newer rental properties in Vancouver is probably closer to $1,700 to $2,300 according to data from RentSeeker.ca).  Average rents for 1 bedroom apartments for rent in Toronto came in at $1,132 (while once again, the real-time asking price for newer apartment rentals on the market are closer to $1,300 to $1,400).

At the top of  the list of the Top 10 Least Expensive Cities to Rent was Shawinigan in Quebec with average rents for a 1 bedroom apartment according to Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation coming in at $381.

View the full INFOGRAPHIC from RentSeeker.ca here:

(for media inquiries, or to share our INFOGRAPHIC, please e-mail us at media@rentseeker.ca)

*Data from this INFOGRAPHIC, and the above article, showing average and real-time rent prices in cities across Canada is based on data from Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC), and apartment finder RentSeeker.ca.

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