Photo: James Bombales

After months of pandemic-induced price declines, Canada’s rental market has reached “recovery mode,” including the country’s largest city, which recorded another month of price increases.

On a month-to-month basis, rents for both one- and two-bedroom properties in Toronto trended upwards, according to Rentals.ca’s July 2021 Rent Report released this week.

In June, the average price of a one-bedroom rental home in the city rose 0.2 percent monthly to $1,836. The cost of a two-bedroom rental in Toronto, now priced at $2,502, increased by 1.9 percent last month. However, both bedroom categories were down on a year-to-year basis by 11 percent and seven percent, respectively.

As reported by Livabl earlier this year, rental prices in Toronto recorded their first monthly increase in March 2021, and had not previously posted gains since December 2019.

As pandemic reopening across the country progresses, Rentals.ca anticipates that tenant demand will continue to rise. Larger increases are expected in 2022 when most pandemic restrictions are likely to be lifted, offices reopen and immigration returns to pre-COVID levels, the report explains.

“After unprecedented declines during the pandemic, the domestic rental market is in recovery mode with many of Canada’s largest cities seeing rent growth accelerate in June. Unit showings are picking up, vacancies are declining and tenant demand is strong again in major downtown markets,” said Ben Myers, President of Bullpen Research & Consulting, in the report’s news release.

“However, it still could take eight to 15 months before most markets get back to their peak rent levels from late 2019,” he added.

Despite Toronto’s progress, Vancouver continues to lead as Canada’s most expensive city to rent in. In June, the average price of a one-bedroom rental rose 3.8 percent monthly and 3.5 yearly to $2,056. The price of a two-bedroom rental home in Vancouver jumped 0.2 percent month-to-month and 4.6 percent annually to $2,765 per month. Toronto is the second most expensive city in the country, according to Rentals.ca.

Photo: White.Rainforest ∙ 易雨白林. / Unsplash

Out of the 35 cities Rentals.ca analyzes in its national monthly report, three other cities located in the Greater Toronto Area ranked within the top five communities on the list — Burlington in third place, followed by Markham and Mississauga. In June, average one-bedroom rents in Burlington increased by 0.7 percent month-to-month to $1,785. Monthly one-bedroom prices dropped by 1.3 percent to $1,774 in Markham, while Mississauga reported no change, holding steady at $1,758 in the same bedroom category.

Prices for two-bedroom rentals in each city grew by 1.1 percent, 1.5 percent and 0.8 percent on a monthly basis to $2,081, $2,014 and $2,097, respectively.

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