Average asking rents across Canada hit an 18-month low in January, declining 4.4% on an annual basis to $2,100.
A monthly report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, which analyzes listings in the former’s network, says it marks the fourth straight month of annual rent declines after 38 consecutive increases.
The report says that despite those declines, average rents in Canada are still 5.2% higher than two years earlier and 16.4% higher than three years ago.
Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand says more rent declines are likely in the months ahead because of heightened economic risks, Canada’s immigration target cuts, and multi-decade highs for apartment completions.
The report says much of the latest decline was concentrated in the secondary rental market, where asking rents for condominium apartments fell 6.5% to an average of $2,219, while rents for houses and townhomes declined 8.9% to $2,144.
Ontario recorded the steepest rent declines, with apartment rents falling 5.2% to an average of $2,329 in January, as the country’s most expensive rental market of B.C. saw a 2.6% decrease to $2,463.