Toronto rental prices are finally reflecting the lack of activity that has been occurring in the region's real estate market, particularly in the condominium sector.
Renters in the city, as well as other parts of the region such as Hamilton, can currently enjoy slightly lower monthly housing prices than at the beginning of the summer and than at the same time last year.
But residents of surrounding towns aren't so lucky, as average rents in other parts of the province are rising sharply, according to Zumper's latest national rent report.
The report, released Thursday, shows that average rents in Toronto remain the second highest of Canada's metropolitan areas (although Burnaby is ahead according to other statistics) – yet the average one-bedroom apartment was 0.8 percent cheaper in August than in July, while two-bedroom apartments were 0.3 percent cheaper.
Year-over-year, these numbers remained flat or decreased by 2.1 percent. And while these declines may not seem like a cause for celebration, residents of the City of Barrie experienced a double-digit increase in their rental prices compared to August 2023.
These are Canada's 15 most expensive urban centres for renters, according to Zumper's new national rent report for September.
One-bedroom apartments in the smaller city, which is about an hour and a half from downtown Toronto, now cost residents a whopping 18.2 percent more than they did in August of last year. Monthly costs for two-bedroom apartments have also increased by an average of 7.3 percent.
The only other city with double-digit increases was Kingston, where rents rose on average by 13 percent (for one-bedroom apartments) to 16 percent (for two-bedroom apartments) compared to the same period last year.
Ontario-specific data shows huge year-over-year price jumps in Barrie and Kingston. Chart by Zumper.
Similar analyses of rental prices across Canada from other sources, such as the one released Tuesday by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, show slightly different prices: Apartments in Barrie cost even more, but the year-on-year increase is less pronounced, according to their data.
That report also showed that rents in Ontario overall fell by an average of 1.5 percent between August 2023 and August 2024, but only considered purpose-built rental apartments and condominiums and used mean values rather than the median.
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