As Canadian owners enjoyed a first interest rate that turned the tide on 20-year-high loan costs, tenants continue to deal with rising costs.
A new report claims our average rent has jumped the $2,200 barrier for the first time.
It comes as the Bank of Canada reduced the benchmark cash rate from from 5% to 4.75% – the first reduction in four years.
Meanwhile, rents have increased 9.3% year-on-year, according to the survey by Rentals.ca and Urbanation. They put the average rent at $2020.
Apartments cost an average of $2,146, while the rent charged for a condominium was $2,312.
Property investors may now enter a period of falling interest rates and higher rents – an attractive environment in which to build a portfolio of additional real estate assets.
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $1,927 in May, up 10.7% year-on-year.
Price rises were steeper for two-bedroom units, rising 12.1% to $2,334.
Some of the most expensive rents can be found in Vancouver, where an average one-bedroom apartment will cost you $2,671. The next highest rents were charged in Burnaby, BC ($2,545) and Toronto ($2,479).
A report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said rents were growing much faster than incomes due to low vacancy rates in every major centre.
A recent Royal Bank of Canada report said persistent unaffordability in Canada’s housing market was widening the wealth divide between renters and homeowners.
“Canadian renters are getting squeezed more than homeowners, making homeownership an even more distant dream,” it said.
The RBC report said ownership was now “more likely to be associated with an inheritance or the transfer of wealth” than income capacity. “The risk of greater inequality between renters and homeowners is one of the many reasons why Canada must address its housing crisis.”