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People load furniture onto a truck in Montreal in July. Year-over-year average asking rents have fallen for 23 consecutive months.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
The average asking price for a rental unit in August was $2,035, down 4.8 per cent compared with a year ago.
A monthly report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation says that marks the steepest year-over-year drop since March.
Average asking rents have now fallen year-over-year for 23 consecutive months, with prices down 7 per cent compared with 2024.
Rents were essentially flat on a monthly basis, down 0.1 per cent from July after four consecutive monthly increases through the spring and early summer.
Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand says the trade war escalation between Canada and the United States is emerging as a new uncertainty for the rental market, warning that demand could slow in the near term due to lower employment and consumer confidence, while supply is being threatened through potentially higher construction costs.
Asking rents for purpose-built apartments fell 3.3 per cent year-over-year to an average of $2,038 last month, while asking rents for condominium apartments decreased 7.7 per cent to $2,050.