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Rents in London grew at the fastest pace in the country over the past year, according to the latest snapshot of the rental market across Canada.
Publishing date:
Oct 25, 2022 • 7 hours ago • 2 minute read • 
A “For Rent” sign (Postmedia Network file photo)
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Rents in London grew at the fastest pace in the country over the past year, according to the latest snapshot of the rental market across Canada.
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The average asking rent for a vacant one-bedroom unit in the city was $1,810 in September, while two-bedroom apartments were going for $2,184.
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Including condos and other types of properties for rent, average rents in the city have gone up by 33.1 per cent over the past year, according to data compiled by Rentals.ca, a website used by landlords to advertise their properties.
London was followed in the ranking by Toronto that saw rent gains of 31.2 per cent, and Vancouver, 29.3 per cent.
Rents across the country rose over the past year in almost all markets analyzed by Rentals.ca. Six cities saw annual rent hikes above 20 per cent, while nine other markets saw double-digit increases, too.
“Part of the increase is attributable to larger units on the market, and high-end building completions adding expensive listings,” said Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research and Consulting, the company that crunches the data for Rentals.ca.
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“But rental demand has increased significantly with the continued interest rate hikes, falling ownership house prices, and changing post-pandemic preferences.”
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London’s record-high apartment rents now top parts of the GTA
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Here’s why rents are soaring in London while home prices cool off
Rents in London have been steadily going up over the past several years, the result of limited supply at a time of immense population growth for the city.
The population of the London area grew by 10 per cent between 2016 and 2021, the fastest rate in Ontario, according to the latest census data.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the migration to the city, with people who could work from home or were seeking bigger spaces amid lockdown orders moving to the city in droves due to its comparably affordable home and rent prices.
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Supply is now also being impacted by the interest rate hikes made by the Bank of Canada as it fights inflation.
But while higher interest rates may be bringing home prices down, the higher mortgage payments that come along with rate hikes are forcing aspiring homeowners to rent longer, reducing an already tight supply of rental units.
“The affordability factor is the key issue in today’s housing market,” said Christopher Alexander, president of Re/Max Canada.
“Rising interest rates have slowly eroded purchasing power and, despite lower housing values and cooling market conditions, buying a house is more challenging now than ever before.”
With Financial Post files
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