A national rent report by rental web site Rentals.ca says average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Guelph for May have increased almost 20 per cent in a year.
The statistics are based off of monthly listings on Rentals.ca.
The average monthly rent in May for a one bedroom apartment in Guelph was up 19.6 per cent and 12.9 per cent for a two bedroom. Toronto saw a similar increase of 19 per cent for condo and apartment rentals to $2,418 in May.
In a list of 35 cities across Canada, Guelph ranked seventh most expensive for rentals in May with the average cost of a one bedroom at $1,950 and a two bedroom at $2,156 in 14th place.
Nearby cities to Guelph, like Kitchener and London saw increases in condo rentals and apartments with average rent in May up 26 per cent to $1,979 and up 25 per cent to $1,893 respectively.
Vancouver ranked the highest rent this year for all property types at $2,909 out of 20 Canadian cities.
Just below Vancouver in the ranking are the seven highest, all in the Greater Toronto Area: Richmond Hill at $2,645; Toronto at $2,365; Etobicoke at $2,213; Mississauga at $2,180; North York at $2,047; York at $2,044 and Brampton at $2,032.
Following the GTA, the next five cities are all in Ontario: Hamilton at $1,933; Ottawa at $1,902; Kitchener at $1,896; Scarborough at $1,864 and London at $1,841.
“The numbers are a little bit skewed because a lot of the markets during the pandemic, rent went down, 15, 20, 25 per cent. We’re really just recovering back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research & Consulting.
He said, Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge didn’t see the same decrease in rent prices during the pandemic due to students who graduated stayed in the city instead of moving for a job.
Demand for rentals of larger single family homes hasn’t dissipated after the height of the pandemic. With the average monthly rent of a single-family home rising, in May 2021 $2,609 to $2,881 in May 2022.
The report cites anecdotal evidence of bidding wars and people renting places without viewing them in-person.
Myers mentioned there isn’t a lot of new stock of rentals available.
He suggested the housing market was in a bubble in January and February because pricing was going through the roof.
“The recent hikes that we’ve seen. Very high rates and that’s scaring a lot of people when they look at what their monthly payment will be and also when they look at the results of the resell market. You know in many places down 15, 20 per cent from the peak of February,” said Myers.
Most people who would be buying their first home and exiting the rental market are still renting which reduces the supply of places available, he explained.
“I still expect rents to go up.”
Seasonality is at play, the summer months aren’t as strong of a market for rentals as spring and fall months, said Myers.
“The trend of less people buying and less people renting. Either through new household formations, people leaving mom and dad’s house. Immigration is still strong. I think a lesser factor obviously will be tourism and some of those leaving the long-term rental market and entering the short-term rental market for tourists,” he said.
