10 most in-demand rental markets in Canada right now
Canadians apartment hunting right now might be surprised by where the action is. Smaller and mid-sized cities are leading the country in renter interest, according to a new report.
RentCafe, a rental search website, recently released its latest Renter Interest Report, a quarterly look at where Canadians are actively searching for apartments. In Q3, smaller and mid-sized cities made up the entire top 10 for the second consecutive quarter.
Moncton, N.B., is once again taking the top spot, continuing its impressive run as Canada’s most in-demand rental market. Meanwhile, cities like Victoria, B.C., and Hamilton, Ont., are also drawing plenty of attention, while big cities like Toronto and Vancouver were left off the top 10.
To determine which markets attracted the most attention, RentCafe reviewed millions of online renter interactions between July and September. Cities were ranked using four key indicators of renter activity: available listings, listing views, apartments saved as favourites, and personalized searches.
Moncton extended its reign as the country’s most in-demand rental market, earning a perfect score of 100.00 and ranking number one in three of the four categories.
“Saved searches were the one indicator that softened, down 36 per cent year-over-year, although Moncton still ranked number one nationally on this metric relative to its renter population,” reads the report.
The city’s strong showing comes as New Brunswick’s rental market continues to stand out. It recorded the strongest new-lease rent growth among the nine provinces tracked, at 3.7 per cent. It also had the lowest provincial vacancy rate, at 2.2 per cent.
Interestingly enough, the report states the most searches for Moncton apartments came from people living in Toronto, Halifax, and Montreal.
The rest of the top five played a bit of musical chairs this reported quarter. Victoria climbed one spot to land at number two in Q3, earning a score of 75.38. According to RentCafe, it’s the city’s highest placement since the ranking began.
Hamilton slipped one position to land at number three, while Halifax climbed two spots to land at number four. Kitchener, Ont., also moved up two positions, to round out the top five.
RentCafe
The two cities with the fewest vacant apartments across Canada were Winnipeg and Halifax, with vacancy rates of 2.6 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively.
There were a couple of new faces in this quarter’s rankings, too. Oshawa, Ont., and Saskatoon, Sask., both broke into the top 10, pushing London and Regina off the list.
“Oshawa recorded the largest jump by climbing 11 positions to number eight overall with a score of 53.81. This marks its highest position on record and its first appearance in the top 10 since Q4 2024,” reads the report.
And once again, Canada’s biggest rental markets were nowhere to be found in the top 10. Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton all missed the list for the second consecutive quarter, though they’re in the top 25.
That doesn’t mean renters have lost interest in these major cities. They remain popular destinations, but year-over-year renter engagement continued to decline across the group, according to RentCafe.
For renters keeping an eye on prices, there may be some encouraging news, too.
According to a separate report from Rentals.ca, rent across Canada has been trending downward for two consecutive years, with the average asking rent now sitting at $2,034.
The top 10 most in-demand rental markets in Canada
- Moncton, N.B.
- Victoria, B.C.
- Hamilton, Ont.
- Halifax, N.S.
- Kitchener, Ont.
- Winnipeg, Man.
- Saskatoon, Sask.
- Oshawa, Ont.
- Windsor, Ont.
- Nanaimo, B.C.
To read the full report, visit RentCafe’s website.