Rent for one-bedrooms in Toronto dropped slightly since January: report

Though Toronto still boasts the third-priciest rent in the country, the cost has slightly dwindled since January.

According to Rentals.ca’s national rental report for February, Toronto’s rental prices for a one-bedroom apartment dropped by 0.4 per cent to a monthly average of $2,511. However, rental prices increased by 2.2 per cent year-over-year.

Outside of Toronto, Richmond Hill, Etobicoke, Markham, North York, Mississauga and Vaughan are all among the top 10 costliest.

While Toronto has the third-most expensive rent in Canada, the rent growth did not shoot up by 17.1 per cent as it did in Edmonton over the last year (though Edmontonians pay an average of $1,479 per month on rent).

On average in Ontario in February, rent for one-bedroom units in apartments and condos hovered at $2,239 a month, and for two-bedroom units it’s $2,711, revealing an annual increase of 5.1 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively.

“Asking rents for all residential property types in Canada reached another record high in January 2024, increasing 10.0 per cent annually to an average of $2,196,” the report read, adding rents increased on average across the country by 0.8 per cent month-over-month pushing the yearly rate of rent growth to a four-month high.

Compared with January 2020, however, average asking rents across the country have skyrocketed by 20 per cent – equating to a roughly $373 monthly price difference.

When looking across property types, the report notes purpose-built rental apartments increased the fastest over the last year, rising 13.5 per cent to an average of $2,107 monthly rent. Rentals in condo buildings were also proportionately pricier, averaging $2,372 in January and rising 4.1 per cent annually across the nation.

The report notes that one-bedroom apartment rents in Canada increased by 12.6 per cent in January, the fastest growth over the year compared to two- and three-bedroom units.

Roommate rents also reached a “record high,” the report notes, with those splitting costs in Ontario averaging at $1,109 per month. In Toronto specifically, roommate asking rents average at $1,311 per month – the second highest across Canada.

Here is what the monthly rent looks like for the average one-bedroom unit in Ontario in February: