Canadian rents fall 4.8% in August

Canada’s rental market continued to soften in August, with average asking rents falling 4.8 per cent from a year earlier to $2,035, according to the latest Rentals.ca and Urbanation Rent Report.

It marked the 23rd consecutive month of year-over-year declines and the steepest annual drop since March, when rents fell 5.3 per cent.

Compared with July, rents were essentially flat, slipping 0.1 per cent after four consecutive monthly increases. Over the past two years, average asking rents have fallen seven per cent.

Condo rents see sharper decline

Purpose-built rental apartments continued to show more resilience than other property types, with average rents falling 3.3 per cent annually to $2,038.

Condo rents dropped 7.7 per cent to $2,050, while rents for other secondary-market properties, including houses and townhomes, declined 8.3 per cent to $2,014.

Rent per square foot also falls

Renters in Canada’s largest markets are also paying less per square foot than they were a year or two ago.

Across Canada’s six largest markets, average asking rent was $2.49 per square foot in August, down 2.5 per cent from August 2025 and 5.2 per cent from August 2024, when it averaged $2.62.

At the same time, available units have become smaller. The average unit was 850 square feet in August, down 3.6 per cent from 882 square feet two years earlier.

Nova Scotia remains most expensive province

Nova Scotia remained the most expensive province for average apartment and condo rents for the fourth consecutive month, at $2,356, narrowly ahead of B.C. at $2,353.

The report says Nova Scotia’s higher average largely reflects its greater share of newly completed projects and larger units. B.C. remained the most expensive province for each individual unit type.

Nova Scotia was also one of only two provinces to record annual rent growth, rising 3.1 per cent. Manitoba edged up 0.2 per cent.

The largest annual declines were in B.C., down 4.6 per cent, Alberta, down 4.3 per cent, and Ontario, down 3.5 per cent.

Toronto decline slows

Among Canada’s six largest markets, Montreal recorded the smallest annual decline in apartment and condo rents, down 1.1 per cent to $1,955. Toronto rents fell 1.4 per cent overall, although two-bedroom rents increased 0.3 per cent and three-bedroom rents rose 3.5 per cent.

The report points to record apartment completions and declining population as near-term headwinds for the rental market, while improved affordability could help bring pent-up demand back.

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