Average rents on new-to-market suites in Hamilton, Ont. are down as much as six percent year-over-year despite Canada hitting an all-time high in that department.
The latest data for May from Rentals.ca, an agency that tracks rental listings across Canada, says average asking rents for all residential property types in the nation hit an all-time high of $2,202 in May.
Asking rents rose 9.3 per cent annually last month spurred on by a 15.7 per cent spike in the average cost of a bachelor suite across the country.
Asking rents for apartments in Vancouver and Toronto declined year over year in May by four and one percent respectively.
Edmonton is the leader in rent growth among Canada’s largest cities, posting a 14.6 per cent annual bump nearly twice that of neighbouring Calgary.
However, the Stampede City still has much higher rents with a single-bedroom suite running around $1,700 in May versus Edmonton’s $1,367.
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“Canada’s rental market is entering the peak summer season with continued strength,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation.
“Markets such as Vancouver and Toronto that had experienced some softening in rents in previous months are stabilizing near record highs, while many of the country’s mid- and small-sized cities are still posting double-digit rent increases.”
After a slight decline in April, rents for purpose-built and condo rentals in Ontario increased in May by about a per cent, driven by an uptick in bachelor suites going up two per cent.
Overall, Hamilton slid in price around five to six per cent in one and two-bedroom units.
A new one-bedroom rental is now going for an average of $1,822 a month while a two-bedroom generally hits $2,170.
Barrie had the largest year-over-year drop in price, 11 per cent with a new one-bedroom around $2,024 a month.
Toronto proper is tops across Ontario in all rental types in price with a bachelor suite around $2,000 a month and a three-bedroom unit checking in at just over $3,700.
Compared to a year ago, asking rents for shared accommodations in Toronto are down about 3.2 per cent from $1,299 per month to an average of $1,257 per roommate.
Ontario’s average is about $1,069 per month for roommate rents.