Renters may now breathe a collective sigh of relief as the average asking rental price drops across Canada.
A new report by rental platform company Rentals.ca shows that in February, average asking rents fell by 4.8 per cent ($105) compared to a year ago. The average rental asking price went down to $2,088, its lowest since July 2023.
The year-over-year rent decrease in February was also the steepest since April 2021 around the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which signals a significant trend reversal.
Among the provinces in Canada, Ontario registered a majority of the rent decline. Ontario saw average annual advertised rent price drop by 4.2 per cent to $2,329, according to the report.
Still higher than pre-COVID asking rent prices
However, despite the declines across Canada the average asking rents in February remained 5.2 per cent higher than two years ago (February 2023) and was still 16.9 per cent higher than the pre-COVID average asking rent prices five years ago.
In the list of cities with the highest rates of advertised rent prices for one bedroom or two bedroom apartments, Ontario cities like Toronto and Mississauga still rank high on the list.
What were the one-bedroom asking rent prices in February 2025?
- Vancouver — $2,518
- Toronto — $2,359
- Mississauga — $2,228
- Brampton — $ 2,076
- Halifax $2,033
- Ottawa — $2,032
- Surrey — $ 1,909
- Kelowna — $1,894
- Kingston — $1,810
- Montreal — $1,744
- Hamilton — $1,720
- Calgary — $1,583
- Quebec City — $1,462
- Winnipeg — $1,426
- Edmonton — $1,330
- Saskatoon — $1,262
What were the two-bedroom asking rent prices in February 2025?
- Vancouver — $3,442
- Toronto — $3,066
- Mississauga — $2,682
- Ottawa — $2,547
- Halifax — $2,504
- Surrey — $2,413
- Kelowna — $2,378
- Brampton — $2,368
- Montreal — $2,255
- Hamilton — $2,082
- Kingston — $1,996
- Calgary — $1,919
- Quebec City — $1,884
- Winnipeg — $1,744
- Edmonton — $1,651
- Saskatoon — $ 1,524
Check out the full report at rental.ca.
