Toronto – June 9, 2025 – The average asking rent for all residential properties in Canada reached $2,129 in May, holding steady from April with only a 0.1% monthly increase, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation. On an annual basis, rents declined 3.3% — the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases — following a record high of $2,202 in May 2024.
“The easing in rents this year across most parts of the country is a positive for housing affordability in Canada following a period of extremely strong rent inflation lasting from 2022 to 2024,” said Shaun Hildebrand, President of Urbanation. “Rents have recently been impacted by the combination of a surge in supply from new apartment completions, as well as a slowdown in population growth and a heightened level of economic uncertainty.”
Despite the year-over-year decline, average asking rents remain 5.7% higher than two years ago and 12.6% above levels from three years ago. Over the past five years, rents in Canada have increased by an average of 4.1% annually, outpacing average wage growth of roughly 3%.
Among property types, condo rentals posted the strongest monthly growth in May, increasing 0.8% to $2,192. House and townhome rentals rose 0.3% to $2,196, while purpose-built rentals edged down 0.1% to $2,117. On an annual basis, purpose-built rentals decreased 2.0%, while house/townhome and condo rents fell 7.0% and 3.6%, respectively.
Three-bedroom purpose-built apartments remained the strongest performing segment, with rents increasing 3.9% year-over-year to $2,743. In the condo segment, three-bedroom rents declined only 0.8%, while studios experienced the largest annual decline, down 5.1% to $1,762.
Saskatchewan led provincial annual rent growth at 3.9%, followed by Nova Scotia (+2.1%) and Manitoba (+0.1%). Ontario and B.C. continued to post the highest rents despite annual declines of 3.6% and 2.6%, respectively. Alberta (-2.4%) and Quebec (-1.8%) also saw rent decreases compared to last year.
Among Canada’s largest cities, Calgary experienced the steepest annual decline in apartment rents (-7.9% to $1,928), followed by Toronto (-6.8% to $2,594), Vancouver (-5.9% to $2,830), and Montreal (-3.3% to $1,970). Ottawa (+0.4%) and Edmonton (+0.7%) were the only major cities to post annual increases. Ottawa was the only city to record annual rent growth across all unit types.
The average asking rent for shared accommodations declined 4.7% annually to $945 in May. Shared rents fell in all four tracked provinces, with the largest drop in Quebec (-5.7%). Among major cities, Vancouver (-9.9%) and Montreal (-8.8%) posted the sharpest annual declines, while Ottawa (+10.0%) and Edmonton (+2.3%) recorded gains.
The National Rent Report charts and analyzes monthly, quarterly and annual trends in the rental market at national, provincial, and municipal levels using listings from the Rentals.ca Network. The data is analyzed and the report is prepared by Urbanation, a Toronto-based real estate research firm founded in 1981.
The data includes single-detached homes, semi-detached homes, townhouses, condominium apartments, rental apartments, and basement apartments. Outlier listings and single-room rentals are excluded.
Media Contacts:
Giacomo Ladas – giacomo@rentals.ca
Shaun Hildebrand – shaun@urbanation.ca