The average one-bedroom rent in Hamilton was $1,809 in July, which is down 0.1 per cent from August, according to the latest Rentals.ca market update.
One-bedroom units are also down 1.8 per cent compared to last year, amid a 3.6 per cent decline in rents nationally.
Out of the 60 cities in the report, Hamilton ranks as the 33rd most expensive for one-bedroom rents.
The top five most expensive cities are North Vancouver, Vancouver, Coquitlam, Toronto, and Burnaby.
The following cities near Hamilton are all more expensive: Oakville ranks seventh most expensive for one-bedroom rent at $2,270, Burlington is 12th at $2,132, Waterloo is 22nd at $2,030, Brantford is 29th at $1,884, Cambridge is 30th at $1,876, and Kitchener is 32nd at $1,822.
Nearby cities that are less expensive are Niagara Falls, which is 38th at $1,716, St. Catharines, which is 40th at $1,704, and Welland, which is 46th at $1,603.
Meanwhile, the average two-bedroom unit in Hamilton costs $2,134, which is up 2.8 per cent from last month, but down 0.1 per cent from last year.
In terms of Canada-wide numbers, the report notes that asking rents in Canada averaged $2,121 in July, down $4 from June and $80 from 2024, marking the tenth consecutive month of declining rents.
The report notes that rents are still two per cent higher than two years ago, when they averaged $2,078, and are still 23 per cent higher than four years ago, when they averaged $1,725.
All condo unit types have seen a decrease in rent, as have all house/townhouse rents nationally.
In terms of apartments, the only unit types that have seen an increase nationally are studios (0.1 per cent year over year) and three-bedroom apartments (3.3 per cent).
On a provincial level, rent for all property types is cheapest in Saskatchewan ($1,453 average), Manitoba ($1,658), and Alberta ($1,845).
The most expensive provinces are British Columbia ($2,496), Ontario ($2,354), and Atlantic Canada ($2,158).
REPORT DATA
The data used in the Rentals.ca analysis is based on monthly listings from the Rentals.ca Network of Internet Listings Services (ILS).
The rankings and report are written by the real estate research firm Urbanation.
The data differs from the numbers collected and published by the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The Rentals.ca Network of ILS’s data covers both the primary and secondary rental markets and includes basement apartments, rental apartments, condominium apartments, townhouses, semi-detached houses, and single-detached houses.
The report’s writers say that CMHC rental rates are reflective of what the average household spends on rental housing and not the current market rents for vacant units.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
