The average rent in Canada has increased for the third month in a row, a new report says, up 1.8 per cent in July over June figures but still down 1.1 per cent from 2020 values.
Although Winnipeg’s is down slightly in July — now sitting at $1,179 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,462 for a two-bedroom unit — its average rents have increased eight and 9.8 per cent respectively since last year, according to a report by Bullpen Research & Consulting and Rentals.ca.
Winnipeg placed 25th out of 35 Canadian cities for average monthly rents in July, with Vancouver leading the pack and Toronto coming in second.
“The main takeaway is that as the pandemic recedes, rents are increasing,” content director of Rentals.ca, Paul Danison, told Global News.
Danison said he anticipates rents will go up even further as demand increases, as the Canada-U.S. border re-opens and as students return to schools, among other things, adding that people are more ready to move right now.
“We have, for rents, eclipsed pre-pandemic levels in Winnipeg. Now, in other areas, that’s not necessarily the case,” Danison said.
He said Toronto and Vancouver, along with other cities, are still down from pre-pandemic figures.
The market peaked in September 2019, with an average national monthly rent of $1,954, but then fell 14.3 per cent to a low of $1,675 in April this year. Although they’ve increased gradually since then, monthly rents are still around $200 cheaper than they were in September two years ago.
“As employees get called back to the office, and colleges and universities announce their reopening plans, demand has increased significantly in central locations, especially in Toronto and Vancouver, where bidding wars are being reported again for rental properties,” Bullpen Research & Consulting president, Ben Myers, said in a news release Wednesday.
“The luxury rental market is returning, pulling average rental rates up with it,” Myers said.
The upward trend in national rental prices comes as the real estate market is showing some signs of easing in Manitoba.
Although housing sales still went strong in July, the Manitoba Real Estate Association (MREA) says 2,008 residential properties traded hands last month, down 2.5 per cent from last month.
“Prior to COVID-19, five straight months of 2,000-plus sales in Manitoba was unheard of,” MREA 2021 president Stewart Elston said in a news release.
Elston added that a drop in additional listings means current levels won’t be able to be maintained, although home sales have remained relatively consistent over the spring and summer.
Despite the anticipated cooling of the local real estate market, the province has seen a 38 per cent increase in sales over 2020 figures, with average prices up 10.8 per cent.
“We continue to experience strong buyer demand that is preventing inventory on the market from replenishing to pre-COVID-19 levels,” Elston said. “It remains an opportune time in the market for Manitobans who are considering listing their home.”
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
OTTAWA – Canada’s inflation rate fell to two per cent last month, finally hitting the Bank of Canada’s target after a tumultuous battle with skyrocketing price growth.
The annual inflation rate fell from 2.5 per cent in July to reach the lowest level since February 2021.
Statistics Canada’s consumer price index report on Tuesday attributed the slowdown in part to lower gasoline prices.
Clothing and footwear prices also decreased on a month-over-month basis, marking the first decline in the month of August since 1971 as retailers offered larger discounts to entice shoppers amid slowing demand.
The Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures of inflation, which strip out volatility in prices, also edged down in August.
The marked slowdown in price growth last month was steeper than the 2.1 per cent annual increase forecasters were expecting ahead of Tuesday’s release and will likely spark speculation of a larger interest rate cut next month from the Bank of Canada.
“Inflation remains unthreatening and the Bank of Canada should now focus on trying to stimulate the economy and halting the upward climb in the unemployment rate,” wrote CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham.
Benjamin Reitzes, managing director of Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO, said Tuesday’s figures “tilt the scales” slightly in favour of more aggressive cuts, though he noted the Bank of Canada will have one more inflation reading before its October rate announcement.
“If we get another big downside surprise, calls for a 50 basis-point cut will only grow louder,” wrote Reitzes in a client note.
The central bank began rapidly hiking interest rates in March 2022 in response to runaway inflation, which peaked at a whopping 8.1 per cent that summer.
The central bank increased its key lending rate to five per cent and held it at that level until June 2024, when it delivered its first rate cut in four years.
A combination of recovered global supply chains and high interest rates have helped cool price growth in Canada and around the world.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem recently signalled that the central bank is ready to increase the size of its interest rate cuts, if inflation or the economy slow by more than expected.
Its key lending rate currently stands at 4.25 per cent.
CIBC is forecasting the central bank will cut its key rate by two percentage points between now and the middle of next year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected on Wednesday to deliver its first interest rate cut in four years.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
