As COVID dwindles, rental fees on the rise in Calgary

The average rental price of homes in Calgary rose in June, following similar trends in most major markets across Canada.

The median monthly rental price for a single-bedroom unit in the city grew by 1.9 per cent in June to an average of $1,239. The average two-bedroom unit grew by 0.5 per cent to $1,537, according to a report released this week by Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research and Consulting.

Paul Danison, a spokesperson for Rentals.ca, said with COVID-19 cases dropping, restrictions easing and people returning to normal life, demand is beginning to rise. He said he expects prices to continue to grow marginally in the coming months as students begin to move and immigration picks up.

“I think there's a little bit more demand. I think that demand is probably only going to increase,” said Danison.

“People were kind of hunkered down, and they've saved some money and they want to rent.”

Compared with the second quarter of 2020 — when the province and Canada as a whole were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — the second quarter of 2021 saw an 11 per cent increase in rental prices in Calgary.

The price of renting a single-family home jumped to an average of $1,913, up from $1,836. Condo rental prices rose to $1,574 from $1,521, while the cost of renting a townhouse rose to $1,541 from $1,460.

Apartment rentals jumped to $1,351 in the second quarter of 2021 from $1,218 in the second quarter of 2020.

Danison said Calgary is in a unique situation, as empty condos in the city are being converted into affordable housing units. He also mentioned Alberta's largest city is cheaper to live in compared with such major Canadian urban centres as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

“I think, overall, there are some deals to be had in Calgary,” said Danison.

He said that despite the recent bumps, single-bedroom units have yet to recover to pre-pandemic rates that saw the average single-bedroom unit cost $1,270 in January 2019.

The Rentals.ca report showed most major cities saw similar trends to Calgary, which ranked 25th on a list of 35 cities in terms of highest cost of renting. Vancouver continues to lead that list, while Edmonton ranked 29th.

The average rental price across Canada grew 0.7 per cent to $1,721.

“Shots are getting in arms, it is summer, people are wanting to move, I think, you know, we're just on a little bit of a rebound here, not only in Calgary but across Canada,” said Danison. “We've seen increases of rent across Canada in the past two months after six straight months of decline . ... We're in recovery mode.”

British Columbia and Ontario continue to be home to a majority of the highest rental prices, with 19 of the 20 most expensive averages being in those two provinces. Halifax is ranked 18th.

Meanwhile, the Prairie provinces remain the most affordable, with eight of the 10 cheapest cities included in the report being found in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. London, Ont., is ranked one spot below Calgary at 26, while St. John's, N.L., is the second-cheapest at 34. Grande Prairie is the least expensive city in which to rent among those included in the report.