There’s some good news for Calgary renters with the latest information on rental rates in Alberta showing the cost of rental units in the city has declined slightly.
However, renters in Edmonton aren’t so lucky with new info showing the cost of rentals in the capital city are up, in some cases by double digits.
The October 2024 national rent report from rentals.ca shows the cost of a one-bedroom unit in Calgary in October 2024 was $1,692. — that’s down .9 per cent compared with September 2024 and down 2.2 per cent compared with October 2023.
The price of some two-bedroom rentals declined even more, with the average cost of $2074. down .9 per cent in October 2024 compared to September 2024 and down 4.9 per cent compared with October 2023.
A major factor contributing to the decline, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation economist Taylor Pardy, is a surge in rental unit availability, more than tripling.
“Almost 7,000 units essentially that have come to the market so far this year, relative to just under 2,100 last year,” explained Pardy.
“Building hasn’t really slowed down. If you look at apartment rental starts? So far this year, we’ve seen over 4,000 rental starts which is up 13 per cent relative to last year.”
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The latest report from rentfaster.ca shows the number of two-bedroom, one-bathroom rental units, available on Oct. 14, 2024, was 8,939 — almost double the 4,597 units available for rent at the same time last year.
Even with the cost of rent stabilizing, renters like Dario Rossi point out wages haven’t kept up after years of increases.
“Rent goes up every year,” Rossi said. “Three, four hundred dollars in the same building per month? You can’t just ask for a raise at work for a couple hundred dollars a month — that’s unreasonable, you know?”
However, the latest information on the rental market in Edmonton shows renters still face some big increases in the cost of renting.
In October 2024, a one-bedroom rental in the capital city cost $1,408. That’s up 2.3 per cent compared to September and a jump of 10.1 per cent compared with October 2023.
A two-bedroom rental in Edmonton cost $1,717 in October 2024, up slightly (.8 per cent) over September 2024 and a jump of 8.7 per cent compared to October 2023.
The increased cost of renting in Edmonton occurred despite a jump in the number of rental units available.
The latest numbers show the cost of renting in Fort McMurray has also declined, with a one-bedroom rental costing $1,240 in October 2024, a decline of 1.2 per cent compared to September 2024, but an increase of 2.7 per cent year over year.
The cost of a two-bedroom rental in Fort McMurray dropped significantly, down 2.5 per cent in October 2024 compared to last month and down 7.18 per cent year over year.
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