A new rent report from Zumper has revealed that Edmonton continues to lead the pack when it comes to rapidly rising rental costs, as the city experiences its lowest vacancy rates not seen in decades.
The June Canadian Rent Report from Zumper shows that Edmonton once again experienced the highest rent growth in the country, jumping 20.9% compared to this time last year.
Only two other cities have experienced spikes similar to Edmonton’s. Winnipeg saw the second-highest annual rent growth at 19.2%, while Quebec City saw the third-fastest, at 17.1%.
“With Edmonton seeing its lowest vacancy rate in decades, this market will only continue to produce some of the sharpest rent hikes in the nation,” Zumper wrote.
While rent prices are spiking, Edmonton is still just the 21st out of 23 on Zumper’s list of Canada’s most expensive cities for renters. On average, a one-bedroom apartment in Alberta’s capital city costs $1,330 monthly.
Our neighbours to the south in Calgary, who saw rent prices rise rapidly in 2023, now have the ninth most expensive rent in the country.
The average price for a one-bedroom apartment in YYC is now $1,830, a 3.4% increase from this time last year.
Vancouver remains the most expensive city in the country for renters, with a one-bedroom apartment costing an average of $2,650. But while rents remain sky-high, Vancouver is the only city in the top 10 that saw a decline in annual rent prices, dropping -1.9% over last year.
“The recent population boom coupled with Canada’s current record low vacancy rate of 1.5% will only put more upward pressure on rent prices, especially as we head into summer and fall when overall competition is at its highest,” said Zumper.
“Our national rent index should start to reflect that in the coming months.”
Alberta is one of a handful of Canadian provinces that does not have a rent control policy, and there are no limits to how much a landlord may increase the rent. However, there are some rules in the Residential Tenancies Act on how and when rent can be increased.
In neighbouring BC, which has the highest rental prices in the country, rent control policies limit annual rent increases for tenants, currently capped at 3.5%.
However, when a renter leaves a unit, there are no legal limits on how much a landlord can increase the price for a new renter.
The Zumper Canadian Rent Report analyzes rental data from hundreds of thousands of active listings nationwide.
Listings are then aggregated monthly to calculate median asking rents for the top 23 most populous metro areas.