Canada-wide rents experienced 1.2 per cent year-over-year decrease in October. Photo Credit: iStock.
The average one-bedroom rent in St. Catharines was down 1.1 per cent month-over-month to $1,681 in October 2024, according to the latest Rentals.ca market update.
One-bedroom rents are also down 0.2 per cent year-over-year from October 2023.
Meanwhile, a two-bedroom unit in St. Catharines costs an average of $1,994, which is down 0.9 per cent from the previous month but up 3.6 per cent from last year.
For Canada-wide numbers, the report notes that rents in Canada declined for the first time since the pandemic.
“Rent declines were mainly focused in Ontario and B.C., as well as in Calgary and Montreal. Many smaller, more affordable markets across the country continued to post strong rent increases in October,” reads the report.
“Rent growth in Canada has been consistently slowing since the summer, with the latest decline representing a sharp reversal from the 9.3% annual increase posted in May.”
The report notes that rents in Canada have declined 2.2 per cent over the course of the past three months.
Canada-wide rents experienced a 1.2 per cent year-over-year increase in October alone.
Out of all the Canadian listings examined Rentals.ca report, the average for a zero-bedroom studio for September was $1,622 a one-bedroom was $1,886, and the two-bedroom average was $2,238.
Therefore, the average one-bedroom and two-bedroom rents in St. Catharines are below the Canada-wide average.
Regarding rankings, St. Catharines is the 26th most expensive city to rent a one-bedroom unit out of the 35 cities examined, down one place since September, indicating the city is becoming more affordable compared to other major Canadian municipalities.
The report notes that condos, homes and townhomes recorded a Canada-wide annual decline in asking rents in October, while rental prices for apartments increased.
Meanwhile, purpose-built studios rents and three-bedroom rents experienced the fastest annual growth of 7.4 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively in October, indicating that Canadians are in the market for smaller rentals to help offset the rapid increase in overall rent prices or large apartments in place of homes or townhomes.
Purpose-built units are those in properties that are built specifically for rental or long-term tenancy and usually include amenities such as fitness areas, swimming pools, and communal spaces.
The report also notes that Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec were the only provinces to record a year-over-year decline in apartment rents in October, with Ontario rentals down six per cent from October 2023 to an average of $2,350.
Meanwhile, apartment rents soared in Saskatchewan (+17 per cent) and grew in Manitoba (+6 per cent), Alberta (+6 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (+8 per cent).
The five most expensive cities of the 35 examined in the report include two in British Columbia (Vancouver and Burnaby) and three in Ontario (Toronto, Oakville and Mississauga).
The five most affordable cities of the 35 examined in the report include one in Manitoba (Winnipeg), two in Alberta (Edmonton and Fort McMurray), and two in Saskatchewan (Saskatoon and Regina).
The other Niagara Region city included in the analysis is Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls ranks as the 25th most expensive one-bedroom unit rent with an average of $1,698, while the average two-bedroom unit was $2,014. That’s an increase of two spots from last month and represents the first time in a long time that rents are higher in Niagara Falls than St. Catharines.
The data used in the Rentals.ca analysis is based on monthly listings from the Rentals.ca Network of Internet Listings Services (ILS).
The rankings and report are written by real estate research firm Urbanation.
The Rentals.ca Network of ILS’s data covers both the primary and secondary rental markets and includes basement apartments, rental apartments, condominium apartments, townhouses, semi-detached houses, and single-detached houses.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
