Rents easing across most major markets but many tenants not feeling relief: CMHC

Sammy Hudes · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 12:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Canada's lodging bureau says advertised rents successful immoderate large cities are easing owed to factors specified arsenic accrued proviso and slower immigration, but renters are inactive not feeling relief.

In its mid-year rental marketplace update released Tuesday, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said mean asking rents for a two-bedroom purpose-built flat were down year-over-year successful 4 of 7 markets.

Vancouver led the mode with a 4.9 per cent alteration successful the archetypal 4th of 2025, followed by drops of 4.2 per cent successful Halifax, 3.7 per cent successful Toronto and 3.5 per cent successful Calgary. Average asking rents grew 3.9 per cent successful Edmonton, 2.1 per cent successful Ottawa and 2 per cent successful Montreal, compared with the archetypal 4th of 2024.

Landlords reported that vacant units are taking longer to lease, CMHC said, particularly for caller purpose-built rental units successful Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, wherever they look contention from well-supplied secondary rentals specified arsenic condominium units and single-family homes.

"Purpose-built rental operators are responding to marketplace conditions by offering incentives to caller tenants specified arsenic 1 period of escaped rent, moving allowances and signing bonuses," the study said, adding immoderate landlords expect they whitethorn request to little rents implicit the adjacent mates of years.

The bureau said rents for occupied units are continuing to emergence but astatine a slower gait than a twelvemonth ago. It said higher turnover rents successful respective large rental markets person decreased tenant mobility, starring to longer mean tenancy periods and "more substantial" rent increases erstwhile tenants bash move.

Rental terms spread highest successful Toronto

In 2024, the spread successful rental prices betwixt vacant and occupied two-bedroom units reached 44 per cent successful Toronto, the highest among large cities, portion Edmonton had the smallest spread astatine astir 5 per cent.

Vacancy rates are expected to emergence successful astir large cities this twelvemonth amid slower colonisation maturation and sluggish occupation markets, CMHC said.

"As request struggles to support gait with caller supply, the marketplace volition stay successful a play of adjustment. This is peculiarly existent successful Ontario owed to lowered planetary migration targets, particularly successful areas adjacent post-secondary institutions," the study stated.

"While the marketplace whitethorn person abundant proviso successful the short-term, determination is inactive a request to support momentum successful caller rental proviso to conscionable the needs of projected aboriginal colonisation maturation and to execute amended affordability outcomes for existing households."

Affordability worsened

Despite downward unit connected rent prices, CMHC said affordability has inactive worsened implicit clip arsenic rent-to-income ratios person steadily risen since 2020, particularly successful regions similar Vancouver and Toronto wherever turnover rents are driving increases.

A abstracted study released Tuesday outlined akin trends crossed the nationalist rental marketplace past month.

• Cooling rental marketplace provides model of accidental for Calgary renters to find deals
• Calgary posts steepest rental terms diminution among large markets, says report

The latest monthly study from Rentals.ca and Urbanation said asking rents for each residential properties successful Canada fell 2.7 per cent year-over-year successful June to $2,125, marking the ninth consecutive period of yearly rent decreases.

Despite the drop, mean asking rents remained 11.9 per cent supra levels from 3 years agone and 4.1 per cent higher than 2 years ago, "underscoring the semipermanent inflationary unit successful the rental market," the study said.

Rents successful houses, municipality homes driblet 6.6%

Purpose-built flat asking rents fell 1.1 per cent from a twelvemonth agone to an mean of $2,098, portion asking rents for condos dropped 4.9 per cent to $2,207. Rents wrong houses and municipality homes fell 6.6 per cent to $2,178.

"Rent decreases astatine the nationalist level person been mild truthful far, with the biggest declines chiefly seen successful the largest and astir costly cities," Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand said successful a quality release."However, it appears that the softening successful rents has begun to dispersed passim astir parts of the country."

B.C. and Alberta recorded the largest decreases successful June, with asking rents falling 3.1 per cent year-over-year successful each state to an mean of $2,472 successful B.C. and $1,741 successful Alberta.

That was followed by Ontario's 2.3 per cent alteration to $2,329, Manitoba's 1.3 per cent alteration to $1,625 and Quebec's 0.9 per cent alteration to $1,960. Nova Scotia's mean asking rent ticked 0.1 per cent little to $2,268, portion Saskatchewan was the lone state to grounds year-over-year growth, astatine 4.2 per cent, to an mean of $1,396.