Toronto named the most popular Canadian city to rent in

Rental rates in Toronto have increased consistently over the last several months as people return to the downtown core. But a new study suggests that the cost of living in the city is not so strongly tied to its popularity.

Conducted by tenant insurance company Duuo, the study compared the cost of living in Canada’s most expensive cities with the demand for rental properties in each area to see how one affected the other.

Toronto was named the most popular city in which to rent, but it was not the most expensive. Vancouver was the priciest area but was the fifth-most sought-after.

The trend continued, with costly Victoria and Kelowna being two of the least-searched cities. The findings show that “cost and demand don’t always go hand-in-hand,” the authors wrote.

Duuo

Cheaper cities seem to be on Canadians’ minds — the most popular areas after Toronto were also some of the least expensive. Winnipeg and Calgary, the third and fourth most-searched, respectively, were in the bottom 20% in terms of cost.

“The data indicates high rental bills don’t exclusively correlate to the most in-demand areas. New and emerging hotspots are providing more choice in the market for renters,” the authors said.

“This is an indication of the change in Canadians’ needs post-COVID and the influx of digital working opportunities. Perhaps more renters are looking to leave the high-paced, urban cities for more rurally-aligned locations like Winnipeg?”

Duuo

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The study used the 20 most expensive cities as per Zumper’s Canadian Rental Report. Using eight rental terms, such as “apartments for rent,” researchers then analyzed monthly search volumes for each city to determine demand.

The number of Instagram hashtags for each city was collected to further ascertain popularity. The data was also used to identify the most photogenic city.

The study found that Canadians want to live in picturesque places — there was a “strong correlation” between a city’s search popularity and its Instagram popularity.

Toronto took the top spot, and two of the other five most Instagrammable cities — Vancouver and Montreal — were also among the most searched by renters.

Duuo

As renters cast a wider geographic net in their search for affordability and beauty, smaller Canadian cities are seeing a boost.

Winnipeg and Edmonton both remain affordable yet appear in the top 10 most search-for cities. The study suggests that Hamilton could be “Ontario’s new hot spot” — it was the seventh most popular city, but didn’t even crack the top 10 in terms of expense.