A new report shows that rental prices in Edmonton are rising significantly faster than the national average.
Rentals.ca’s national rent report for August 2024 shows that prairie cities like Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina saw some of the biggest increases in asking rents over the past year.
In Edmonton, the price of a one-bedroom apartment is 16 percent higher year-on-year and now averages $1,389.
For a two-bedroom apartment, this amount is 12 percent higher and costs an average of $1,716.
“It seems that rents are rising the most where they are more affordable,” said Giacomo Ladas of Rentals.ca.
During the same period, the national average increase was 5.9 percent, according to the report. That’s the lowest rate in more than two years, according to Rentals.ca. Due to high rents in places like Vancouver and Toronto, the average rental price nationwide is $2,200.
The email you need for the most important news of the day from Canada and around the world.
Get daily national news
Receive the most important news and headlines from politics, business and current events in your inbox once a day.
According to experts, supply is the reason for rising prices in Edmonton.
“Many Canadians who move to Alberta do so in search of cheaper rent,” Ladas said.
“When that happens, demand increases and supply cannot keep up. Then prices rise.”
“If supply met demand, we wouldn’t be talking about rising rents,” says economist Moshe Lander of Concordia University.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the vacancy rate for apartments in Edmonton was 2.4 percent last year.
The CMHC expects similar figures for this year and thus continued high prices.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
