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Average rents in Ottawa down slightly according to report

With both rent and the cost of construction rising, New Brunswick has introduced legislation for renters and landlords, which includes rent increases being limited to once every year and banning them for the first year of tenancy. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) With both rent and the cost of construction rising, New Brunswick has introduced legislation for renters and landlords, which includes rent increases being limited to once every year and banning them for the first year of tenancy. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
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OTTAWA -

Average rents in Ottawa are down slightly year-over-year according to a new report.

Rentals.ca’s and Bullpen Research & Consulting’s latest National Rent Report shows that average monthly rents are down in Ottawa 1.8 per cent for a one-bedroom and 5.6 per cent for a two-bedroom year-over-year, and also declined slightly in month-over-month prices.

Ottawa is 13th out of 35 cities in Canada in terms of rental prices for one-bedroom units, at $1,598 and 10th for average monthly rent for a two-bedroom at $2,005.

"Single-family homes in Ottawa were the only property type to consistently experience increases each year since August 2019, moving from $2,762 per month in 2019, to $2,827 per month in 2020, to $2,845 per month in August," the report says.

"The average rent for rental apartments is the only property type with a lower average rental rate in 2021 than that of 2020: $1,772 per month in August 2021, down from $1,810 in August 2020 and $1,807 per month in August 2019."

Nepean is ranked separately on the list from Ottawa, despite being a suburb. The report shows average one-bedroom rents in Nepean are slightly lower than Ottawa’s average at $1,576 and more than a hundred dollars cheaper for two-bedrooms at $1,836. Year-over-year, prices are on the rise in Nepean.

Prices also appear to be rising in Kingston, Ont. While one-bedroom rents are an average of $1,439, that’s a 6.6 per cent year-over-year increase. Two-bedroom rents in Kingston are an average of $1,750, which has gone up 4.7 per cent year-over-year.

Across the river in Gatineau, Que., rent is noticeably cheaper. Gatineau came in 24th out of 35 for one-bedroom units at an average of $1,377. A two-bedroom in Gatineau costs an average of $1,717. Unlike Ottawa, however, these prices are a result of a month-over-month increase of 6.8 per cent for one-bedroom units and 4.9 per cent for two-bedrooms. Year-over-year data was not available for Gatineau.

Vancouver and Toronto remain pricey, but rent in Alberta is low

Vancouver is the most expensive rental market in Canada, coming in at $2,167 on average for a one-bedroom and $3,044 for a two-bedroom. Both of these costs represent double-digit increases, year-over-year, the report says.

Toronto rents are the second-highest in the country at an average of $1,989 for a one-bedroom and $2,628 for a two-bedroom. This is just over one per cent lower than last year.

The cheapest rent of the 35 cities on the list is in Lloydminster, Alta. There, you can get a one-bedroom place for an average $718 a month and a two-bedroom for $827. Rental prices in Lloydminster have declined between three and six per cent year-over-year according to the report's findings. Of the five cities in Alberta included in the report, none were higher than Calgary, which was 27th on the list.

The report concludes that, across Canada, rental prices are slowly rising again, on average. Smaller units experienced price drops overall, but larger homes became more expensive to rent.

"One- and two-bedroom units have experienced year-over-year declines, while larger units with three or four bedrooms have experienced significant year-over-year increases, suggesting that the demand for larger units persists and that some tenants fully expect that working from home will be a requirement for the foreseeable future."

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