Average asking rents in Canada decreased by 2.3% year-over-year in December, settling at an average of $2,060, which marks a full year of declines and the lowest level in 30 months. The latest report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation revealed that December 2025 marked the 15th consecutive month of decreasing average asking rents across Rentals.ca’s listings network.
Throughout the entire year, average asking rents in Canada experienced a 3.1% decline in 2025, surpassing the annual drop seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being 5.4% lower than two years ago, rents are still 14.1% higher than pre-pandemic levels in December 2019.
Shaun Hildebrand, the president of Urbanation, attributed the downward trend in rents to a shift in demand and supply dynamics that were previously driving rents upward between 2022 and 2024. Factors such as a surge in apartment completions, a slowdown in population growth, economic uncertainties, and affordability challenges have collectively led to the decrease in rents.
Looking forward, the report anticipates that rents will likely continue to decline in the near future as these conditions persist. The decline in rent prices has been particularly notable in secondary market units. Average asking rents for house and townhouse rentals dropped by 5% to $2,071 in December, while rents for condominium apartments fell by 4% year-over-year to $2,131. Purpose-built apartment rents decreased by 1% year-over-year to an average of $2,049.
By province, average apartment rents in December saw a decline of 5.4% in British Columbia to $2,353, 3.2% in Ontario to $2,257, 2.7% in Alberta to $1,671, and 1.9% in Quebec to $1,934. Conversely, rents increased by 7.1% in Saskatchewan to $1,395, by 1.8% in Nova Scotia to $2,268, and by 1% in Manitoba to $1,633.
In Canada’s six largest markets, the steepest annual rent decreases for apartments were observed in Vancouver, down by 7.9% to $2,654, and Toronto, down by 5.1% to $2,498, with both cities reaching their lowest rent levels since early 2022. Calgary saw a 5% decrease to $1,824, Montreal experienced a 2.3% decline to $1,952, Ottawa had a 0.5% decrease to $2,153, and Edmonton witnessed an increase of 0.8% to $1,518 in average asking rents for apartments.