Rents hit new record high nationwide, with Hamilton one-bedroom at $1,901: report 

Rents across the country have reached a new record high, which is being attributed to the severe supply shortage and skyrocketing demand from a growing population.

In Hamilton, average rent was $1,901 for a one-bedroom apartment in August. This is based on the average price of vacant basement apartments, rental apartments, condominium apartments, townhouses, semi-detached houses and single-detached houses. Hamilton had the 19th priciest rent in that category out of 35 cities, according to the National Rent Rankings for September 2023.

It’s up 2.5 per cent month over month or 12.2 per cent over the same period last year.

For a two-bedroom, average rent cost $2,294, up one per cent month over month or 6.1 per cent over the same period last year in Hamilton.

For a one-bedroom, the top five most expensive rents were in Vancouver ($2,988), followed by Toronto ($2,620), Burnaby ($2,555), Mississauga ($2,379) and Brampton ($2,274).

In this one-bedroom category, the five least expensive rents were in Saskatoon ($1,055), followed by Regina ($1,121), Lethbridge, Alta. ($1,181), Winnipeg ($1,232) and Quebec City ($1,254).

Nationwide, average asking rents reached a fresh high of $2,117 in August, according to the Rentals.ca and Urbanation latest National Rent Report.

The monthly increase was 1.8 per cent and annual growth rate was 9.6 per cent.

From May to August, the Canadian rental market experienced a 5.1-per-cent increase in asking rents, or a monthly rent increase of $103. 

“Unlike in the U.S., rent inflation in Canada has failed to cool down despite rental completions having reached their highest level in decades,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of real estate research firm Urbanation. “This is illustrative of the severe rental housing shortage across the country and the magnitude of the impact on rental demand as the population expands by a record pace.” 

The annual rate of inflation for asking rents was lower than the 12-per-cent- increase a year ago in August 2022, but it represented a four-month high, according to the report.

“Despite rental apartment completions in Canada over the past 12 months reaching their highest level since the 1970s, rent growth has remained exceptionally strong. This can be attributed to the country’s record-high population growth and sharp deterioration in homeownership affordability,” according to the report.

Hamilton had the 12th highest average rent for apartments and condos at $2,090, up 8.4 per cent year over year.  For one-bedroom it was $1,922 (10.8 per cent year over year), two-bedroom it was $2,301 (up 6.8 per cent year over year) and three-bedroom it was $2,440 (up 4.2 per cent year over year). There was no average for a studio because of insufficient data.

The top five average condo and apartment rents were in Vancouver at $3,316, followed by Oakville ($3,007), Toronto ($2,898), Mississauga ($2,682) and Etobicoke ($2,631).

Saskatoon had the cheapest average condo and apartment rent at $1,143, followed by Regina ($1,199), Lethbridge ($1,276), Fort McMurray ($1,296) and Quebec City ($1,393)

The report found that asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments averaged a record high $2,046 in August. That’s up 1.9 per cent month over month and 12.8 per cent year over year. Studios recorded the fastest month-over-month rent increase of 2.4 per cent with an average of $1,480. One-bedrooms had the fastest year-over-year growth in asking rents at 14.8 per cent, averaging $1,880 per month. Two-bedroom asking rents averaged $2,233 and three-bedroom asking rents averaged $2,448, growing by 12.3 per cent and 10.6 per cent year-over-year, respectively.

Among the 25 fastest growing mid-sized markets, Hamilton had the second lowest growth in rent at 8.4 per cent. Richmond Hill had the greatest rent increase at 28.1 per cent and Winnipeg had the least at 8.3 per cent.

The data was based on monthly listings from the Rentals.ca Network of Internet Listings Services, which differs from Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation’s numbers. It includes basement apartments, rental apartments, condominium apartments, townhouses, semi-detached houses and single-detached houses.

Click here to read the full report.