St. Catharines is the 26th most expensive city to rent a one-bedroom unit out of the 35 Canadian cities examined. Photo Credit: iStock.
The average one-bedroom rent in St. Catharines was up 0.5 per cent month-over-month to $1,663 in May 2024, according to the latest Rentals.ca market update.
However, one-bedroom rents are down 0.5 per cent year-over-year from May 2023.
Meanwhile, a two-bedroom unit in St. Catharines costs an average of $1,936, which is down 0.8 per cent from the previous month and down 1.7 per cent from last year.
For Canada-wide numbers, the report notes, “Average asking rents for all residential property types in Canada hit an all-time high of $2,202 in May, surpassing the $2,200 level for the first time.”
Canada-wide rents experienced a 0.6 per cent month-over-month increase and a rather significant 9.3 per cent year-over-year increase.
Out of all the Canadian listings examined Rentals.ca report, the average for a zero-bedroom studio for May was $1,631, a one-bedroom was $1,927, and the two-bedroom average was $2,334.
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.
The report notes that condo studios were the only housing type to record a Canada-wide annual decline in asking rents during May.
Meanwhile, purpose-built studios experienced the fastest annual growth of 17.8 per cent in May, indicating that Canadians are in the market for smaller rentals to help offset the rapid increase in overall rent prices.
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 Quebec was the only province to record a month-over-month decline in apartment rents in May, down 0.6 per cent from April to an average of $1,999.
Meanwhile, apartment rents soared in Saskatchewan (+21.4 per cent), Alberta (+17.5 per cent) and Nova Scotia (+17.1 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, Mississauga and North York).
The five most affordable cities of the 35 examined in the report include one in Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John’s), one in Alberta (Fort McMurray), two in Saskatchewan (Saskatoon and Regina) and one in Quebec (Quebec City).
The other Niagara Region city included in the analysis is Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls ranks as the 28th most expensive one-bedroom unit rent with an average of $1,554, while the average two-bedroom unit was $1,960.
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.
