Rents in Niagara Falls and Welland rose in August compared to July, bucking a national trend of rent decreases across the country. At the same time, rents in St. Catharines fell, in line with the national trend.
That’s all according to a new Rentals.ca report.
Overall Canadian rents fell by 2.3 per cent in August compared to a year prior.
The monthly Rentals.ca National Rent Report includes 60 cities across Canada and has recorded a year-over-year decline in national rents for 11 consecutive months.
Out of those 60 cities, Niagara Region’s major urban centres rank among some of the most affordable in Canada, and certainly in Ontario. In fact, Welland is ranked as the third most affordable major city in Canada’s largest province, after Sarnia and Windsor.
In terms of overall rankings, Welland ranks as Canada’s 44th most expensive city, while St. Catharines comes in at 42nd and Niagara Falls at 38th.
That’s a change in rankings for two of the three cities. Welland rose two spots in national rankings, meaning it became more expensive compared to other cities. At the same time, St. Catharines fell by two spots, indicating it became less expensive compared to peer cities. Niagara Falls remained at the same slot in the overall rankings.
The average rent for a one-bedroom unit in Welland was $1,641 in August, up 2.4 per cent from July but down 3.4 per cent from August 2024.
Two-bedroom units were priced at an average of $1,948, which is up 4.2 per cent from July but down 0.5 per cent from August 2024.
In St. Catharines, the average one-bedroom was down 1.1 cent from July to $1,686 and down 1.1 per cent from August 2024.
Two-bedroom units were down 1.5 per cent from July and down 1.1 per cent from August 2024 to an average of $1,945.
In Niagara Falls, the average one-bedroom was up 0.3 cent from July to $1,721 and up 1.1 per cent from August 2024.
Two-bedroom units were priced at an average of $2,082, which is up 0.2 per cent month-over-month and up 2.5 per cent year-over-year.
The report notes that this is the longest stretch of declining rent prices since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Asking rents in Canada declined year-over-year for the eleventh month in a row during August, decreasing 2.3 per cent to an average of $2,137,” the report reads. “This is the longest stretch of falling rents since the COVID-19 pandemic, when rents showed annual decreases for fifteen consecutive months.”
The report also notes that the 2.3 per cent year-over-year rent decline in August is smaller than the 3.7 per cent year-over-year rent decline in July, suggesting that rent declines might be starting to slow.
Out of all the Canadian listings examined in the Rentals.ca report, the average for a zero-bedroom studio for July was $1,638, a one-bedroom was $1,848, and the two-bedroom average was $2,235.
That means rents in all three of the Niagara Region cities looked at in the report fell below the national average.
The report notes that Saskatchewan and Manitoba saw modest year-over-year increases in apartment rents in August, while rents in Quebec remained flat. Everywhere else, however, rents fell, including in Ontario, where rents were down an average of two per cent to $2,330.
The five most expensive cities of the 60 examined in the report include three in British Columbia (North Vancouver, Vancouver, and Burnaby) and two in Ontario (Toronto and Oakville).
The five most affordable cities of the 60 examined in the report include three in Alberta (Fort McMurray, Medicine Hat, and Lloydminster), one in Saskatchewan (Saskatoon), and one in Atlantic Canada (St. John’s).
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 Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and 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.
