Cost of rentals in Oakville and Burlington among most expensive in Canada

Two of the most expensive places in Canada to rent a one-bedroom unit are Oakville and Burlington.

According to the Rentals.ca October rent report, Oakville trails only Vancouver, Burnaby and Toronto when it comes to the cost of the average one-bedroom unit at $2,502. Although down slightly from last month, that’s a 16.6 per cent increase over October 2022.

Burlington is 10th on the list at $2,217, up 5.7 per cent from last year.

Average asking rents in Canada hit new heights with a month-over-month increase of 1.5 per cent, bringing the average asking rent to $2,149 according to Rentals.ca and Urbanation’s latest National Rent Report.

This represents a year-over-year growth of 11.1 per cent, pushing the annual rate of rent inflation to a nine-month high.

“While rent inflation in Canada remained exceptionally strong in September, most major markets experienced a slower annual rate of rent growth compared to recent months,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. “This was particularly true in Toronto, where rents grew by their slowest pace in two years.”

One-bedroom apartments recorded the most substantial annual growth in asking rents, reaching 15.5 per cent, with an average rent of $1,905. Two-bedroom apartments saw a year-over-year increase of 13.1 per cent, averaging $2,268, while three-bedroom units rose by 11.4 per cent to an average of $2,514.

As renters look to save on costs by obtaining roommates, and property owners try to mitigate soaring mortgage payments by offering up space for rent, the volume of listings for shared accommodations over the past three months has grown 27 per cent compared to last year.

Average asking rents for shared accommodations increased 18 per cent year-over-year in September to $944 per month.