There are several reasons for rent growth in Canada. The cost of nearly every item has increased. Generally speaking, growing demand ∝ rising rents. Moreover, COVID has set a higher demand for rental apartments. The most contributing factors are the rising need for adaptability and the shortage of cheap homes.
The rent increase is particularly true in the two most expensive markets, Vancouver and Toronto, where the annual rent rise has increased by over 24% in each province of Canada.
So why are rents likely to skyrocket? Let’s quickly review some of the main causing elements.
Average Rent Rate Per Province
If you have any experience renting an apartment, you have probably already felt the consequences of Canada’s sharply rising rental prices. Between August 2021 and August 2022, the estimated rent price grew by 11% in Canada.
The average rent price per province varies depending on your search for a two or one-bedroom. Check out the average rent rate of each province and expected rent in future below:
Provinces |
2022 Average Rents |
2023 Expected Rents |
| Quebec | $1758, 6.3% change | Lower by 17% |
| Ontario | $2384, 36% change | will be increased by 2.5% |
| British Columbia | $2505, 31% up | will be down by 5% |
| Alberta | $1449, doubled 15% in 2022 | Prices will be boost up |
| Saskatchewan | $1119, 13% increase | Prices will be boost up |
| Manitoba | $1444, 9.8% up |
While declining home prices in Canada’s top areas have been among the most prominent economic sound bites, another story that is likely to be significant has emerged. And this story is all about rents rise and reduction in the total rental market.
Families are impacted by the home market downturn in Canada. In the coming 18 months, housing sales and prices will undoubtedly decline even further. Without minimizing the struggles some Canadians face, this change is aiding in the return of reason to the country’s real estate market.
Accessibility is increasing as prices fall and many industries are stabilizing. The Canadian Bank of Commerce uses the housing market to fight inflation. The slowdown may reduce this stress so banks can roll back some rate increases in 2023.
When this happens, homes will be more affordable. Such occurrences need to pave the way for a lasting recovery.
What Are The Reasons Rents Are Rising?
What’s occurring in the property and renting market has received little coverage, as the significant effects of increasing rent rates on the home market have been extensively reported.
If you have recently attempted to rent an apartment, you must know the incredible rate at which rent is rising in Canada. Let’s get a detail on reasons for sky-high rent rates:
Inflation
The burden on Canadians’ pockets has been brought on by current early inflation rates and is projected to be 7%, according to an August 2022 Report. Yes, inflation has indeed given Canadians a lot of trouble.
The price of everything is touching the sky. You can’t buy expensive groceries, outfits, building supplies, cars, gas, and other things now. Unfortunately, rising rental costs appear to be the trend.
Many people think that rising mortgage payments for owners caused a rise in rental rates, which were then passed on to tenants. The situation is more closely tied to demand and supply than to increased interest costs.
Why Does Rent Go Up With Inflation?
Here’s a chain of reasons why a relationship exists between inflation and higher rates:
- To combat growing inflation, the government had to raise interest rates
- Mortgage rates increased dramatically as a result of higher interest rates
- As mortgage rates are higher and less affordable, it is more difficult for purchasers to obtain, and fewer people are buying homes, which lowers housing values
- The market is bottoming out less frequently as a result of falling property prices, which is slowing down property sales even further
- This indicates that many individuals are entering the property market, and many tenants who are converted into ownership remain; this increases stress on rental markets
- The rapidly rising rental rates are being brought on by increased stress and competition in the property market and lesser average rates in rental property
Over the past few years, the Canadian property market has experienced extreme ups and downs. The median rent in Canada is $2045 monthly, up about 22.1 % since 2021. The rental market appears to be especially harsh from the standpoint of tenants, and it may be easy to assume that this is all due to property speculators.
In fact, inflation has caused a complicated snowball effect that has led to Canada’s soaring rent costs. Higher interest rates and a decline in mortgage appetite are both results of inflation.
The average inflation rate has decreased but is still high, 6.9% by the end of September and 8% yearly. The economic growth has been only a little above 5%. In response, the government raised the basic interest rates from 0.25% to 3.26% till now.
Mortgage rates have increased considerably as a result of the cascading effects. Owners with typical $400,000 mortgages would pay $1300 more annually, which is more than $100 per month.
Rates for traditional 5-year mortgages increased from 4.8% to 6.5%.
Check out Canada’s rental crisis: Why we’re losing affordable housing – The Fifth Estate:
Shortage Of Construction
The U.S. residential market needs to construct 328,000 new homes yearly to replace existing stock and satisfy the demand for new property units. While the market continues to build new homes at this rate, an estimated 530,000 new residential properties were constructed in 2021.
Tenants make up over 4.5 million (30%) houses in Canada, and the stress is growing. New apartments need to be constructed quickly enough to satisfy the growing demand in Canada’s main urban areas and small and large communities.
Rent prices are going up, and the availability rate is going down; thus, demand is still growing. In Toronto, availability rates for newly constructed rentals dropped below 2%; in Vancouver, it dropped to 2.7%; and in Calgary, it dropped to 5% in 2022.
Investors are less likely to participate in new rental apartment development, formerly a profitable way to enter the real estate market. Pandemic outbreak difficulties that hinder building include:
- Labour shortages
- Higher construction manufacturing costs as suppliers struggle with supply management problems
High initial property costs, rising loan rates, lengthy planning permission procedures and expensive distribution network problems affect load-carrying. As per CIBC Capital Markets, the downturn has forced the postponement or cancellation of almost 1/3rd of Toronto’s multiple residential projects.
Need For Luxury
Even if inflation gets high in a country, the demand for several needs and accessories remains the same. People are in a rush to get something perfect and also in large quantity. Hence, a middle-class and allied-class person never stops thinking about getting luxurious.
Similarly, new houses are still in demand if prices are growing at their peak. This is due to the current lack of rental apartments, a foundation of good lifestyles, and voluntary tenants who are prepared to pay higher rents for these luxurious apartments.
The luxurious single-family house rates are growing, which may reduce the number of people who can afford an apartment and push them towards renting instead. This increases the already-existing strain on the rental market by creating demand for rental housing.
Migration Patterns
To get job opportunities and spur financial growth, Canada has to bring in a huge number of immigrants, but they’re also not a lie that there are not enough homes available to house them all. Even Canadians are now facing these difficulties.
However, the rapid absorption has impacted the real estate market in Canada. According to analysts at the Bank of Nova Scotia, this rental stock is the worst among G-7 nations.
Home values in Canada’s largest cities rose due to rapid urbanization, a lack of available homes, and cheap lending rates. This led prospective buyers to explore outside of the country. This led to price increases in remote, smaller places that were not used to property bubbles.
Moreover, immigration continues to put stress on affordable housing, too. Newfoundland and Labrador had the greatest population increase in previous years, which is 95% due to immigration.
About 1/5th of Canadians are overseas, making up 39 million of the country’s population. Canadian government authorities are working to develop homes and relieve supply shortages. But there is no doubt that it takes several years to overcome the housing shortage.
Increasing Interest Rates
Following the Bank of Canada’s decision to raise its inflation target by a whole percentage level, Canada’s policy interest rate rose to 2.49%, slightly higher than 0.2% at the year’s start.
In 2022, mortgage interest rates increased due to the federal reserve adjusting its banking systems. This tendency may have a variety of effects on multiple residential markets. A person or family may purchase an apartment or rent it according to a single-family.
Hence, rental apartments have high demand, especially in communities of single-family homes, and are rising. Meantime, rental market prices have increased due to interest rate growth and a slowdown in the real estate market.
The national average rent rate in Canada increased to $1885 in June due to higher interest rates (monthly), which is a 9.6% increase yearly. The cost of funding a new construction has increased according to interest rates for builders intending to build additional rental homes.
Again the challenges of distribution network concerns, building delays, and permission delays are compounded by an additional financial barrier.
Increasing Demands From Millennials & Baby Boomers
Many millennials may need to consider keeping a home and yard their primary concern. However, baby boomers approaching retirement age might need more time to be ready or able to upkeep a sizable house or lawn.
Renting is quite common among this group of people. Baby boomers are making the decision to relocate to a rental flat after selling the homes where they have raised their families. On the other hand, Millennials are ready to rent out these flats instead of owning a property.
Hence, higher rent rates are quite beneficial for millennials in this way. Millennial parents, who are often members of the baby boomers era, view ownership as the quickest and clearest path to financial achievement since it benefits them and their kids.
Subletting
What should a landlord do if, after signing a rental agreement with one individual, he discovers that there is another occupant? And suppose the tenant’s lease is still in effect, and he has to vacant the property.
Any residential rental in Ontario can sublet or sublease their rental home after the landlord’s permission. An allocation is different from a sublease. In allocation or assigning, the original tenant moves out permanently, and the lease is transferred to the new renter.
In a sublet, the original renter intends to return, and subtenants pay their rent while he keeps up with his payment obligations to the landlord. But, the tenants are not allowed to charge more from the subtenants than their landlords.
Will Rental Rates In The U.S. Keep Rising?
We have continuously observed an average increase in rent per year. Rent increases are anticipated to be generalized based on historical patterns. Despite a slower increase in prior years, the gain in 2020-2022 was still an average monthly rise of $3.
The average monthly rent for July was $1592. Rents increased significantly in major regions by an average of $64 monthly. In addition, rents increased in 92% of American cities. Remember that 2022 showed the highest increase in house rents in the first year.
Rental Rates Will Increase
There may exist some reasons for continuous increase in rental prices:
Limited Rental Availability Continues: People will look forward to rental properties due to the shortage of construction of new homes. As a result, there will be a shortage of rental homes, increasing rental prices.
Affordability problems: High housing costs continue to pose problems with affordability.
Rental Rates Will Decrease
There may lie a possibility of decreasing rental rates in the U.SU.S. following are some reasons for the decline in rental prices:
- Rents cannot rise more rapidly than your income, as government always notices increasing incomes if inflation increases in any country.
- If construction costs exceed, rental prices rise slowly
- Supply should meet demand
What To Do When Rent Is Too High?
Let us quickly examine some of the responses from Canadians and what you should do to make your payments simpler:
Individual Cost-Cutting And Budgeting
To manage your own unexpected expenses, you must make a budget. Your funds are probably harder than normal because everything is becoming more expensive. Unforeseen costs might easily impact your capacity to make on-time rent payments.
We advise making a straightforward budget planner that lists your monthly salary, costs, utilities, and rent payments. This may guarantee you stay within your budget and have enough money to cover your rent.
Taking A Secondary Job
Getting a side job is a terrific method to transform your leisure time into money, which can help you raise your income. You may choose your own time and can earn $20 approximately per hour.
Signing Lengthier Lease Agreements
Most apartment complexes provide renters with a discount who are willing to enter into a lengthy lease agreement. For example, in contrast to a yearly agreement, if you sign a 2-year long agreement, you’ll get 5% off on your rent.
Having Roommates
Although it can be complicated, sharing housing with others makes tasks more inexpensive. One method to lower your monthly expenditure and survive despite the rise in rental prices is to share a bigger apartment.
This bigger apartment may hold 2 or 3 bedrooms, and you can live with several housemates.
When Will Apartment Prices Go Down?
According to research, the Canadian housing market will be balanced by sharp price drops in 2023. It is predicted that by the end of 2023, the countrywide average house price will decrease by approximately 25% from the record increase established in 2022.
It is also predicted that a substantial downturn in the Canadian home market. If homeowners decide to offer their properties, it may result in greater price stress than expected. Since February, sales have dropped over 40% and are heading at price points observed in 2012.
Home sales have fallen short of levels compatible with economic factors like income and home availability.
FAQs
Why is Rent so High in Ontario?
Inflation, Inflation, and Inflation!
Many regions had to face an expense increase lower than the countrywide average. But renters are seeing significant hikes in the price of maintaining a dome over their heads in Ontario.
Several landlords need more profit from rent even if they give an apartment for rent according to the prices in the stock market. Hence, they have to increase rents for tenants. Some of the other obvious reasons for higher rents in Ontario are:
- Where there is employment, property values are quite high.
- Weak hearts don’t afford construction costs
- Once everything is said and done, trades related to construction generate excellent cash and increase by twice of their rates
- Because many individuals are renting rather than buying, interest rates are helping to drive up rent inflation
Why are Apartments so Expensive?
Due to rental growth, Canadians are spending a larger percentage of their salary on rent. This has left them squeezed for money and anxious about expenditure issues if they have to relocate in future.
According to analysts, a significant change from the beginning of the epidemic, when rents temporarily declined, higher interest rates, growing electricity expenses, and soaring demand are being caused by inflation.
Limited labour and housing supply! In Canada, housing demand is growing, but supply is finding it difficult to keep pace. From 2005 to now, rents have more than doubled, climbing twice.
What is the Most Significant Factor in the Price of Rent?
The rental market is ever-evolving. The cost of every rental home depends on several variables. Location/place is the most significant factor in rent price; the main element influencing rental prices in real estate investments.
Your property or apartment’s location may instantly determine the following:
- A starting rental price
- General demand
- Intended audience
Additionally, it may have a significant role in other investing variables like:
- Weeks on exchange
- Acknowledgement
A roadway or sector might be considered in the same location as the city.
Final Thoughts
Rent costs are rising due to supply and demand, as usual. Even while present market conditions are negative for renters, they won’t endure forever. When property prices stabilize (low down payment), some tenants may decide to buy under more favourable circumstances, increasing supply in the property market.
Now you are aware of the causes of rental growth in Canada, keep checking to overcome this rise. If you are a newbie to Canada, get ready for every shock and expense. Remember to share your review of this guide in the discussion section.
Have a great day!
