Step aside: Alberta has been dethroned as the province with the biggest rent growth
Alberta has seen its fair share of rent price spikes lately, but it’s no longer the leader of the pack thanks to a neighbouring province taking the lead when it comes to the largest annual rent growth.
Rentals.ca just released its May 2024 Rent Report, which compares the cost of rent in 35 cities across Canada.
Cities in Ontario and BC made up the entire top 10 of the highest rent prices in Canada, however, when you narrow it down to a provincial scope the site says Saskatchewan overtook Alberta to become the provincial leader in annual rent growth in April, posting a whopping 18.4% increase.
“Nonetheless, average asking rents for apartments in Saskatchewan remained the lowest in the country at $1,300,” Rentals.ca added, while Alberta’s average asking rents for apartments sat at $1,746, a 16.4% annual growth.
Alberta’s West Coast neighbour maintained its position as the province with the highest asking rents for apartments at an average of $2,507 in April, increasing just 1.6% from a year ago.
Rentals.ca
Unsurprisingly, Vancouver led the country with the average rent for a one-bedroom landing at $2,646, while Calgary sat in 25th place at $1,736 for a one-bedroom and Edmonton came in at 31st place with $1,353.
YEG has experienced a year-over-year increase of 16.4% in the price of rent for a one-bedroom, while YYC has shot up by 8%.
Rentals.ca added that when it comes to asking rents for apartments, Edmonton maintained its position as the leader for rent growth among Canada’s largest cities, with asking rents for apartments up 13.3% annually to an average of $1,507 — still well below the average rent in Calgary, which rose 8.6% from a year ago to an average of $2,089.
In a bit of a surprise to some, the City of Lloydminster, which straddles the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan, posted the fastest annual rent growth in the country during April.
Overall, Alberta led the top 25 markets for fastest rising rents with seven cities making the list.