In December, the average asking rents in Canada dropped by 2.3% compared to the previous year, settling at $2,060 on average. This decline marked a full year of decreasing prices, reaching the lowest level in 30 months. The recent report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation revealed that December 2025 marked the 15th consecutive month of decline in average asking rents across Rentals.ca’s listings network.
Throughout 2025, the average asking rents in Canada experienced a 3.1% decline, surpassing the annual drop observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a 5.4% decrease compared to two years ago, current rents are still 14.1% higher than pre-pandemic levels in December 2019. Shaun Hildebrand, the president of Urbanation, attributed the decline in rents to a shift in demand and supply dynamics that were previously driving rent prices upwards between 2022 and 2024.
Factors such as record-high apartment completions, a slowdown in population growth, economic uncertainties, and affordability challenges have collectively contributed to the downward trend in rents. Hildebrand mentioned that given the current conditions, rents are likely to continue decreasing in the near future.
The report highlighted that the decline in rents was led by secondary market units. House and townhouse rentals saw a 5% decrease to an average of $2,071 in December, while rents for condominium apartments fell by 4% year-over-year to $2,131. Additionally, asking rents for purpose-built apartments decreased by 1% year-over-year to reach an average of $2,049.
In terms of provincial breakdown, average apartment rents in December saw a 5.4% decline in British Columbia to $2,353 and a 3.2% drop in Ontario to $2,257. Alberta and Quebec also experienced decreases of 2.7% to $1,671 and 1.9% to $1,934, respectively. On the other hand, average asking rents increased in Saskatchewan by 7.1% to $1,395, in Nova Scotia by 1.8% to $2,268, and in Manitoba by 1% to $1,633.
Among Canada’s six largest markets, Vancouver and Toronto witnessed the steepest annual rent decreases for apartments in December, with declines of 7.9% to $2,654 and 5.1% to $2,498, respectively. Both cities saw rents drop to their lowest levels since early 2022. Calgary experienced a 5% decrease to $1,824, Montreal saw a 2.3% decline to $1,952, Ottawa’s average rent slightly decreased by 0.5% to $2,153, while Edmonton recorded a 0.8% growth to $1,518 in rents.
