Rent in Toronto declines for third month in a row: report

The average apartment rent in Toronto has declined for the third month in a row, according to a monthly report by Rentals.ca.

According to the January report, the total average asking price for an apartment in Toronto increased just 2.1 per cent from a year ago to an average rent of $2,832.

In November, rent decreased 2.4 per cent year-over-year to $2,913. The organization’s October report was the first to indicate a slowdown in rental costs since August 2021.

Toronto stuck in second place on the report’s list of most expensive Canadian cities to live in for renters, following Vancouver.

Across Canada, asking rents have increased by a total of 22 per cent, which translated to an average of $390 per month, over the last two years.

National Rent Ranking January 2023 (Rentals.ca).

Despite the slow down, Toronto still took third in Rentals.ca’s National Rent Ranking for January 2023. Vancouver and Burnaby took the number one and two spots.

The remaining top ten spots went to Ontario markets, including Mississauga, North York, Burlington, Scarborough, Brampton, Guelph and Ottawa.

The current average cost of a one-bedroom in Toronto is $2,536 while a two-bedroom goes for $3,345 and a three-bedroom is priced at $3,843, the report found.

The four highest-priced small- and mid-sized markets for apartment rents in Canada were all located in B.C., followed by Richmond Hill, with an average rent of $2,782.

Most of the remaining top 25 small and mid-sized markets with the highest rents were located within the Greater Toronto Area.