Canadian multi-family property rents show no signs of abating any time soon, says a Yardi report.

The apartment remains red-hot due to a robust population, consistent job growth, residents’ strong preference to rent and a long-term housing shortage, according to the Toronto-based commercial real estate analytics company.

Canada’s population increased to 40 million in July. However, housing supply is not keeping up with rapid population growth. Over the next decade, more than 300,000 new renter households will be created across the country, says Yardi while citing a recent Canada Building Industry and Land Development Association purpose-built rentals report.

National lease-over-lease rents rose 40 basis points between the first and second quarters of 2023 with Toronto experiencing the high growth (18.7%) and Kitchener-Waterloo second (17.1%). Lease-over-lease rents refer to new leases on units that were re-leased after becoming vacant.

“Vacancy and annual turnover rates have stabilized at extremely low levels,” says Yardi in the report.