The national average apartment asking rent in July fell 3.6% from a year earlier to $2,121, marking the 10th straight month of annual declines and the largest drop of 2025 so far, according to Rentals.ca and Urbanation.

On a month-over-month basis, asking rents slipped by $4 from June. Purpose-built apartment asking rents dropped 1.7% year-over-year to an average of $2,095, while condominium-apartment asking rents decreased 5.7% to $2,202.

“Canada’s rental market is experiencing a prolonged softening phase, with price declines accelerating across most provinces and unit types,” said Rentals.ca Manager of Data Services David Aizikov. “With the seasonal peak now behind us, we expect continued downward pressure on rents heading into the fall.”

However, average asking rents remain 2% higher than two years ago and 11% above levels seen three years ago.

Among major markets, Vancouver (7.0%) and Calgary (7.9%) posted the largest annual rent declines. Toronto rents dropped 4.6% to $2,593, while Montreal’s dipped 1.6% to $1,971. After holding steady in June, both Ottawa and Edmonton rents declined 0.9%.

On a provincial basis, Nova Scotia posted the largest July decline at 5% to $2,275, followed by British Columbia’s 4.4% decrease to $2,475 and Ontario’s 3% drop to $2,325.

Renters showed the least desire for one-bedroom units as they saw the sharpest drop, falling 4.6%. Meanwhile, two-bedroom suites experienced a 3.5% decline.

Studio rents decreased modestly (0.6%), while those for three-bedroom units dropped 1.9%.

During the past three years, studio rent increases (19.7% in total) have outpaced all others.