National rental prices have hit another record high, according to the Rentals.ca July 2023 Rent Report.
The average price of a rental unit reached $2,042 last month, beating out the Nov. 2022 price of $2,024.
“The 1.4% increase in rents from May represented the fastest month-over-month increase so far this year, causing the annual rate of rent inflation to accelerate to 7.5% from the 6.5% annual rate recorded in May,” the report reads.
“Over the past two years, average asking rents in Canada have increased by 20%, or by an average of $341.”
One of the reasons cited behind the high spike in rent was the record growth of population due to the Trudeau government’s immigration policy.
“Annual rent inflation in June remained below the double-digit growth experienced during most of 2022 and early 2023. However, additional upward pressure on rents occurred as the population expanded at a record pace, the unemployment rate remained near a record low, and homebuyers became more cautious with more interest rate increases,” claimed the report.
The fastest growth in rent prices impacted Alberta where prices rose for two consecutive months.
Year over year the price of condominium apartments rose by 18.3% to an average of $1,552.
In June, British Columbia remained the most expensive province for renters with the average price of a condominium being $2,550. Ontario was close behind, reporting an average rent of $2,415 last month.
“Vancouver and Toronto, representing the country’s most expensive rental markets with average asking rents of $3,301 and $2,813, respectively, recorded annual rent growth of 15.7% and 15.4% in June,” claimed the report.
“Ottawa, the third most expensive of Canada’s largest markets with an average asking rent of $2,146 in June, saw similar annual rent growth of 15.3%.”
The Bank of Canada (BoC) hiked its overnight rate to a 22-year high on Wednesday as it continues to try to meet its 2% inflation mandate by curtailing consumer spending.
While the BoC credits the surge of newcomers to help with labour shortages across the country, it states immigrants are adding to the demand for housing.
“Strong population growth from immigration is adding both demand and supply to the economy: newcomers are helping to ease the shortage of workers while also boosting consumer spending and adding to demand for housing,” wrote the central bank in a news release on Wednesday.
