By Sammy Hudes
In its mid-year rental market replace launched Tuesday, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. stated common asking rents for a two-bedroom purpose-built condominium have been down year-over-year in 4 of seven markets.
Vancouver led the best way with a 4.9% lower within the first quarter of 2025, adopted by drops of 4.2% in Halifax, 3.7% in Toronto and three.5% in Calgary. Common asking rents grew 3.9% in Edmonton, 2.1% in Ottawa and two per cent in Montreal, in contrast with the primary quarter of 2024.
Landlords reported that vacant items are taking longer to lease, CMHC stated, particularly for brand new purpose-built rental items in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, the place they face competitors from well-supplied secondary leases reminiscent of condominium items and single-family houses.
“Function-built rental operators are responding to market circumstances by providing incentives to new tenants reminiscent of one month of free hire, shifting allowances and signing bonuses,” the report stated, including some landlords anticipate they might must decrease rents over the subsequent couple of years.
The company stated rents for occupied items are persevering with to rise however at a slower tempo than a yr in the past. It stated larger turnover rents in a number of main rental markets have decreased tenant mobility, resulting in longer common tenancy intervals and “extra substantial” hire will increase when tenants do transfer.
In 2024, the hole in rental costs between vacant and occupied two-bedroom items reached 44% in Toronto, the very best amongst main cities, whereas Edmonton had the smallest hole at roughly 5 per cent.
Emptiness charges are anticipated to rise in most main cities this yr amid slower inhabitants progress and sluggish job markets, CMHC stated.
“As demand struggles to maintain tempo with new provide, the market will stay in a interval of adjustment. That is significantly true in Ontario attributable to lowered worldwide migration targets, particularly in areas close to post-secondary establishments,” the report said.
“Whereas the market might have considerable provide within the short-term, there’s nonetheless a necessity to take care of momentum in new rental provide to satisfy the wants of projected future inhabitants progress and to attain higher affordability outcomes for present households.”
Regardless of downward strain on hire costs, CMHC stated affordability has nonetheless worsened over time as rent-to-income ratios have steadily risen since 2020, particularly in areas like Vancouver and Toronto the place turnover rents are driving will increase.
A separate report launched Tuesday outlined related developments throughout the nationwide rental market final month.
The newest month-to-month report from Leases.ca and Urbanation stated asking rents for all residential properties in Canada fell 2.7% year-over-year in June to $2,125, marking the ninth consecutive month of annual hire decreases.
Regardless of the drop, common asking rents remained 11.9% above ranges from three years in the past and 4.1% larger than two years in the past, “underscoring the long-term inflationary strain within the rental market,” the report stated.
Function-built condominium asking rents fell 1.1% from a yr in the past to a mean of $2,098, whereas asking rents for condos dropped 4.9% to $2,207. Rents inside homes and city houses fell 6.6% to $2,178.
“Hire decreases on the nationwide degree have been delicate up to now, with the most important declines primarily seen within the largest and most costly cities,” Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand stated in a information launch.
“Nevertheless, it seems that the softening in rents has begun to unfold all through most components of the nation.”
B.C. and Alberta recorded the biggest decreases in June, with asking rents falling 3.1% year-over-year in every province to a mean of $2,472 in B.C. and $1,741 in Alberta.
That was adopted by Ontario’s 2.3% lower to $2,329, Manitoba’s 1.3% lower to $1,625 and Quebec’s 0.9% lower to $1,960. Nova Scotia’s common asking hire ticked 0.1% decrease to $2,268, whereas Saskatchewan was the one province to report year-over-year progress, at 4.2%, to a mean of $1,396.
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Final modified: July 8, 2025