The average monthly cost of a one-bedroom apartment in London, Ont. rose marginally in the city to start the month, while the average cost of a two-bedroom unit fell just over a percentage point compared to the previous month, new figures from Rentals.ca shows.
According to the website’s most recent national rent report, a one-bedroom unit is going for around $1,774 on average in London, up 0.2 per cent compared to the previous month, while a unit with two bedrooms clocks in at around $2,111, down 1.5 per cent.
Rents in the city have risen an average of 23.1 per cent compared to the same time last year, the fifth-highest increase in Canada behind Brampton (30.1), Kitchener (28.2), Scarborough (28.1) and North York (26.5), all in southern Ontario, according to Rentals.ca.
The Forest City is currently the 19th most expensive rental market in Canada, up from 23rd a year ago, the figures show.
Looking at nationwide figures, average rents across Canada have dipped about 1.5 per cent compared to three months ago, the figures show. Prices, however, remain about 9.1 per cent higher compared to the same time last year.
Quebec saw the fastest rent increase over the last three months at 2.9 per cent, followed by Ontario with one per cent. Other provinces saw three-month declines for purpose-built and condo apartments, the website said.
While local rents have seen double-digit increases over the last 12 months, the local housing market has seen double-declines in average sale prices.
According to the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors, the average sale price of a home in the London and St. Thomas market was $621,912 as of February, down 24 per cent from the record high of $825,221 recorded a year ago.
Nationally, the average sale price of a home was $622,437 in February, down 18.9 per cent from a year ago.
Key interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada over the last year have cooled housing prices, but rents have continued to climb and decades-high inflation has put increased pressure on people’s wallets.
According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, housing is considered “affordable” if it costs less than 30 per cent of a household’s pre-tax income.
The average total pre-tax income of households in London was $95,700 in 2020, or about $7,975 per month, of which 30 per cent would be around $2,400.
For one-person households, average pre-tax income was $50,640 in 2020, or about $4,220 per month. Under the CMHA’s figure, affordable would equal roughly $1,266 or less per month.
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