The average asking rent for all residential properties in Canada declined 4.7% year-over-year in April to $2,027, marking the 19th consecutive month of annual rent decreases, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.

Average rents were down about $100 from a year earlier and 7.4% lower than two years ago, although they remained 1.2% higher than three years ago.

“Rents in Canada are basically back to their level from three years ago,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. “This improvement in affordability should help bring renters into the market who were priced out in recent years.”

Among the provinces, annual apartment rent declines were concentrated in the country’s largest markets. British Columbia led with a 5.9% decrease, followed by Ontario at 5.2% and Alberta at 3.4%. Apartment rents increased in Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba. Saskatchewan posted the strongest three-year rent growth nationally, with apartment rents rising 25.9% since April 2023.

Apartment rents declined across Canada’s six largest rental markets in April, led by Vancouver with a 5.3% drop, while Edmonton recorded the smallest decrease at 1.2%. Vancouver posted the steepest declines across several unit types, including one-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.

Montreal was the only major market to record annual rent growth for both one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, while three-bedroom rents increased in Montreal and Toronto.

Purpose-built rentals remained the most stable market segment, with average asking rents declining 3.7% annually to $2,027. Condo apartment rents fell 5.6% year-over-year to $2,087, while rents for houses and townhomes declined 7.8% to $1,998. One-bedroom rents recorded the largest annual decline among unit types, falling 4.3% to $1,778.

Average asking rents per square foot declined 0.8% annually to $2.54, while the average unit size for available listings fell to 827 square feet, continuing the longer-term trend toward smaller rental units. Compared with two years ago, average unit sizes declined 4.4%.

Suburban markets surrounding Canada’s largest cities experienced some of the country’s sharpest rent corrections, including double-digit apartment rent declines in Brossard, Richmond, Côte Saint-Luc, Markham, Oakville, Coquitlam, Longueuil and Burnaby.

Graphic: Courtesy of Rentals.ca and Urbanation