Rent prices across Ontario are taking a nosedive

In the years since 2022's real estate peak, the script has flipped on Toronto's market, with buyers and renters now having more of an upper hand than they have in years.

Amid a wealth of listings and diminishing action, property owners are being forced to be more flexible on price, even if it means stomaching hundreds of thousands in losses — whether in one go in a home sale, or over time as their mortgage and other expenses outpace what they can get in rent.

With so much choice, some of the lowest prices in years and, at times, perks to sweeten the deal, those looking for an apartment in the city may be pleasantly surprised. The same goes for areas beyond Toronto, too, as rental rates and home prices around Ontario continue to sink.

Current average rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments in cities across the country, courtesy of Zumer's latest Canadian Rent Report.

As of October, according to rental platform Zumper, you can secure the typical one-bedroom unit in Canada's largest city for around $2,200, which is 10.2 per cent lower than this time last year, while a two-bedroom now goes for approximately $2,790, marking a 10.9 per cent decrease year-over-year.

Rates have plummeted even more severely in Barrie, where a one-bedroom is now $1,750 (-10.3 per cent from last year), and not insignificant declines have also been seen in Kitchener ($1,750, -7.9 per cent)  St. Catharines ($1,550, -6.1 per cent), Oshawa ($1,750, -5.4 per cent) and London ($1,660, -5.1 per cent).

"Canada's rental market continues to cool, driven by record levels of new supply and easing demand," Zumper wrote in its national rent report, published Wednesday.

"The median one-bedroom rent rose 0.1 per cent to $1,821 last month, while two-bedrooms increased 0.1 per cent to $2,258, but on an annual basis, rents for one and two-bedroom units are down 4.1 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively, marking the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year declines."

How Canada's average one- and two-bedroom rents have fallen over the last year. Graph from Zumper.

Other authorities, too, have summarized a full year straight of monthly rents plunging compared to 2024; Rentals.ca and Urbanation, known for their regular assessments of the market, wrote just last week that September marked the first two-year drop in the nation's average rent since January 2022.

That more detailed study outlined softening prices in Oakville, Mississauga, Vaughan, Burlington, Waterloo, and Guelph, as well, for one- and/or two-bedroom units month-over-month and/or year-over-year.