By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- A new report says from Rentals.ca and Urbanation shows that Canada's average asking rent reached a new record in July at $2,078 per month.
That figure is 8.9 % higher than a year earlier, making it the fastest pace of growth over the past three months. Between June and July the average asking rent rose 1.8% month over month.
Looking back two years to July 2021, rents are up 21% or $354 per month on average.
Of course, the nationwide average figure of $2078 will appear quite attractive to renters in the GTA and Vancouver.
In Toronto, the average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment stands at $2592 per month, while a two bedroom would set one back $3370 per month.
In Vancouver, a one-bedroom on average costs $3013 a month, while a two bedroom goes for $3918.
However, it's in Alberta that rents are seeing the fasted acceleration - with average asking rents up 15.6% year-over-year to $1,578.
“Canada’s rental market is currently facing a perfect storm of factors driving rents to new highs,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation, in a news release.
“These include the peak season for lease activity, an open border policy for new residents, quickly rising incomes, and the worst ever home ownership affordability conditions.”
Canada remains one of the most unaffordable housing markets globally, with Bloomberg data showing that the the average priced Canadian home is roughly 32% beyond the borrowing capacity of median-income household.