A Canadian report released this month, issued by Urbanation Inc, indicated a decline in rental prices for residential units in high-density areas of Canada, marking the first decrease in three years.

The report stated that the average rent for residential units on new leases in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton decreased by 1.2% during the second quarter compared to last year.

The report also noted that the average rent from April to June reached $3.97 per square foot, or $2,723 for an apartment of 686 square feet, down from $4.02 per square foot during the same period last year, representing the first decrease since 2021.

On another note, Sean Hildebrand, the president of Urbanation, stated that the slight decline in rents is mainly due to an increase in the completion of residential apartments, but this trend is not expected to continue, as sales of new residential apartments have significantly decreased.

As for purpose-built rental apartments completed since 2000, rents rose by 2.2% from last year to an average of $4.08 per square foot, which included a decline of 0.5% in Toronto rents and an increase of 7.7% in the wider area.

On the other hand, the proportion of purpose-built rental apartments rose from 1.6% in the second quarter of 2022 to 2.7% during the last quarter.