Canada’s landlords are now asking a record-breaking average of $2,117 per month, according to a new report compiled by a Canadian rental listings website.
According to Rentals.ca, the Canadian market reached a new record when it comes to what new tenants are asked to pay per month, with data suggesting a monthly increase of 1.8 per cent in August, and an annual surge of 9.6 per cent.
Amidst the backdrop of high interest rates and soaring expenses impacting property owners and overall cost of living, the rental market continues its upward trajectory, those behind the report said.
In July, the market saw a 1.8 per cent increase in the average asking rent, pushing it to an average of $2,078 for the month. The metric, which is based on new listings, not what existing tenants are paying per month, underscores the ongoing challenges faced by renters in Canada.
Rentals.ca’s recent report, indicates that while the annual inflation rate for asking rents in August was actually lower than the 12.0 per cent increase recorded in August 2022, this rate still reached a four-month high last month.
According to the report, from May to August, asking rents have experienced a 5.1 per cent increase, resulting in an average of $103 extra per month.
Despite a surge in rental apartment construction in Canada over the past year, the highest since the 1970s according to Rentals.ca, rent prices have stayed strong, the report shows. Those behind it say this is due to record population growth and declining affordability for homeownership, both of which mean more people are looking for rental units.
When it comes to rental types, studios experienced the most rapid month-over-month rent increase, rising by 2.4 per cent to an average across Canada of $1,480. Meanwhile, one-bedroom units saw the highest year-over-year growth in asking rents, surging by 14.8 per cent to an average of $1,880 per month.
Two-bedroom asking rents averaged $2,233, marking a 12.3 per cent year-over-year increase, while three-bedroom asking rents averaged $2,448, with a 10.6 per cent year-over-year growth.
Asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments averaged a record high of $2,046 in August, increasing 1.9 per cent month-over-month and 12.8 per cent year-over-year.
ALBERTA MAINTAINS TOP SPOT FOR RENT GROWTH
Breaking down the data by region, Alberta maintained its position as the provincial leader in annual rent growth for purpose-built and condominium apartments for the fourth consecutive month, Rentals.ca said.
The average asking rent in Alberta rose 15.6 per cent year-over-year, now standing at $1,634. Alberta rent also grew the fastest of all the provinces month-over-month, at 3.5 per cent in August.
Following Alberta, Quebec maintained the second-highest annual rent growth in the country, at 14.2 per cent, for the third consecutive month. The average asking rent for purpose-built and condominium apartments in Quebec reached $1,932.
In August, B.C. witnessed a significant annual rent growth of 10.8 per cent, up from its 9.8 per cent pace in July. Average asking rent in B.C. has now reached $2,675, meaning new renters are asked to pay an average of $1,041 more on the West Coast than in Alberta.
The average asking rent in Ontario stood at $2,496 in August, reflecting an annual increase of 9.9 per cent, which was slightly higher than the 9.0 per cent annual growth observed in July.
Meanwhile, Manitoba and Saskatchewan experienced the slowest rent increases over the past year, with annual growth rates of 8.3 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively. This led to average rents of $1,457 in Manitoba and $1,102 in Saskatchewan.
CALGARY LEADS RENT GROWTH IN LARGE CANADIAN CITIES
Among Canada’s largest cities, Calgary maintained its position as the leader in rent growth, with a year-over-year increase of 17.23 per cent in August. The average rent for purpose-built and condominium apartments in Calgary reached $2,068.
Montreal followed closely with an annual growth rate of 16.4 per cent, and asking rents surpassed the $2,000 mark for the first time, reaching $2,001.
In Canada’s priciest cities, Toronto and Vancouver, annual rent increases were below the national average at 8.7 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively. This led to average monthly costs of $2,898 in Toronto and $3,316 in Vancouver. Surprisingly, Vancouver experienced a 0.7 per cent decrease in average rents on a monthly basis.
According to the Rentals.ca report, Canada’s largest cities witnessed the strongest month-over-month rent growth in Ottawa, with a 4.5 per cent increase, and Edmonton, with a 4.1 per cent increase.
The average asking rents in these cities were $2,226 in Ottawa and $1,438 in Edmonton, respectively.
When it comes to mid-sized markets, the report shows that some of the country’s most expensive mid-sized markets had among the fastest rising rents during August.
Richmond, B.C., led the way with the highest annual growth in average asking rent, surging 28.1 per cent. This increase brought the average rate to $3,120, making it the third highest among Canada’s mid-sized markets.
Oakville, Ont., recorded a 23.1 per cent annual rent increase, reaching $3,007, ranking it as the fourth highest in Canada.
Meanwhile, Burnaby, B.C., saw rent increase by an average of 21.1 per cent year-over-year to $3,152, making it the second highest in the country. North Vancouver, B.C., had the highest average asking rent among Canada’s mid-sized markets at $3,541, with an annual increase of 17.0 per cent.
SHARED ACCOMMODATION RENT SOARS
According to the rentals report, shared accommodations experienced significant rent increases in August. For instance, there was a 24 per cent year-over-year increase in average asking rents for shared units in Quebec, a 20.5 per cent increase in Alberta, a 17.7 per cent increase in B.C., and a 7.5 per cent increase in Ontario.
The highest average asking rent for roommate rentals in Canada was in Vancouver, at $1,773 per month, followed by Toronto with an average of $1,302.
Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
