Average Brampton rent still nearly $200 higher than Canada-wide norm: report

Rental rates stayed mostly flat in Brampton last month, with average rents in the city still more than $200 higher than the national average despite a drop in the Canada-wide norm compared to a year ago.

The latest National Rent report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation shows a 4.3 per cent drop year-over-year in the Canadian average rental price across all property types in June.

The Canada-wide average asking rent last month dropped for the 21st month in a row, down to $2,033 last month.

But in Brampton, the average asking rent across all property types was $2,231 in June marking the second month in a row where rent was almost $200 higher than the Canadian average. The average asking rent in May across Canada was $2,029, while in Brampton the average was $2,228.

One-bedroom rentals had an average price of $1,962 last month, up 1.4 per cent from May and down 3.6 per cent year-over-year, while two-bedroom rentals averaged at $2,355, up 2.8 per cent from May and up 1.4 per cent from the same month last year.

Brampton stayed stable and ranked 16th on the report’s list of the most-expensive cities to rent in Canada, book-ended by Victoria at No. 15 ($2,258) and Ajax at No. 17 ($2,217).

Average rents for all unit types continued to fall in June across the most populous provinces, with decreases of 5.3 per cent in Ontario and B.C, 4.2 per cent in Alberta, and 2.2 per cent in Quebec. The report says the largest apartment and condo rent decreases over the past year were seen in B.C. (down 5.1 per cent), Alberta (down 4.8 per cent) and Ontario (down 4.6 per cent).

While average rents stayed mostly flat in Brampton last month, Rentals.ca and Urbanation say rents spiked 1.2 per cent in Toronto from May and were down only 1.9 annually, calling the move “a possible early signal that rents are stabilizing in Canada’s largest market.”