Analysts suggest decline of pandemic will boost rents in Canada’s largest cities, including Hamilton

The latest rental data from two Canadian-based agencies suggests prices will be substantial in the biggest cities for the coming year as many people go back to offices amid an apparent wind-down of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both Rentals.ca and Zumper.com, which aggregate data from vacant units, anticipate average rents will stabilize in 2022 but move upwards with the expectation of continuing supply chain issues, record inflation and increasing interest rates having an indirect effect.

As expected, British Columbia and Ontario recorded the highest monthly average rental rates in February, however, the new National Rent Report, published by Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research, says the average rent per square foot in of a condo-style apartment in Toronto has suddenly dropped below that of Vancouver.

Historically, Canada’s largest municipality has been tops in that metric, but as of the end of February lagged behind the coastal city with an average rent per-square-foot price of $3.66 to Vancouver’s $3.84.

The average monthly asking rent for Canadian properties on Rentals.ca in February 2022 was $1,820 per month, an increase of 6.2% annually from $1,714 in February of last year.

In Hamilton, the two analysts estimate you’ll have to fork over $1,500 a month for a one-bedroom rental, with Rentals average at $1,514 and Zumper’s Canadian Rent Report putting the price at $1,440.

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As of the end of February, Rentals.ca put Hamilton 18th on its list of 35 cities in terms of the highest one-bedroom average monthly rent. The city was 11 of 23 on Zumper’s list.

A two-bedroom in the Hammer will run you somewhere around $1,900 with the rental firms’ averages at $1,940 and $1,810, respectively.

Both reported increases of just over $100 a month in Hamilton’s two-bedroom rentals year over year.

Two-bedroom units in St. Catharines were very much in demand with about a 13 per cent increase year to year, bumping the average rate to $1,700, according to both agencies.

A single bedroom is likely to run between $1,350 and $1,400 in the Niagara municipality.

In Toronto, Zumper reported a 3.3 per cent increase month over month to $1,900 for a single bedroom unit – a high the city has not reached in 15 months.

Rentals put the cost closer to $2,050 with an estimated 13 per cent increase year over year.

The aggregate for a two-bedroom in Toronto is $2,589, with Rentals.ca reporting a cost of $2,778 while Zumper revealed a $2,400 per month price tag.