This Ontario city just saw the steepest rent decline in the province

A new report analyzing rent prices and declines across Ontario highlights a major shift in the province's rental market, with one city in particular standing out for seeing the sharpest year-over-year drop in prices. 

According to liv.rent's April 2026 Ontario Rent Report, Markham witnessed the largest overall rent decline across all Ontario markets year-over-year.

The city recorded the largest average decrease, with one-bedroom rents dropping from $2,295 per month to $2,007, two-bedroom rents declining from $2,831 to $2,600, and three-bedroom units decreasing from $3,294 to $3,053, representing declines of 12.5 per cent, 8.2 per cent, and 7.3 per cent, respectively. 

Ontario's rental trend over the past year. Source: liv.rent.

Affordability also improved in several other Ontario markets, including Oshawa and Brampton, which ranked among the lowest-priced markets this month. Oshawa saw its average rent for one-bedroom apartments drop from $1,777 to $1,603 per month, while Brampton recorded a decline of $139, from $1,918 per month to $1,779. 

In the City of Toronto, the average monthly rent price for an unfurnished one-bedroom saw a year-over-year drop of $176 to a monthly average of $1,950 in April. Compared to last month, the average rent price for this property type decreased by $22, while the average rent for a furnished one-bedroom increased by $26 since last month. 

Average rent prices in April across Ontario cities. Source: liv.rent.

Looking across the GTA, monthly rents for unfurnished one-bedroom units dropped in Markham (-5.66 per cent), North York (-3.01 per cent), and Mississauga (-1.85 per cent), but increased slightly in downtown Toronto (2.74 per cent) and Brampton (0.71 per cent). 

When it comes to furnished one-bedroom units, downtown Toronto and Markham recorded minor declines this month (-0.94 per cent and -0.57 per cent, respectively), while North York (4.73 per cent), Scarborough (9.47 per cent), and Vaughan-Richmond Hill saw increases (3.61 per cent). 

Source: liv.rent.

Overall, the report found that Oshawa is the cheapest municipality to rent in the GTA, while Oakville is the most expensive place to rent this month. 

The average rent price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit in Oakville is $2,137 per month, and the same type of unit runs for an average of $1,603 in Oshawa, representing a difference of $514.