Hamilton one-bedroom rents are higher than the Canada-wide average, while two-bedroom rents are slightly lower than the 35 cities measured by Rentals.ca. Photo credit: Shutterstock
The average one-bedroom unit rent in Hamilton was $1,881 in September 2023 according to the newly released Rentals.ca market update.
That number is actually down 1.1 per cent from August 2023 when the average rent for a one-bedroom was at $1,901 per month.
However, it still represents a 12.6 per cent increase from last September.
A two-bedroom unit in Hamilton costs an average of $2,279 per month which is also down slightly from August, but up 7.3 per cent from last year.
A three-bedroom in the city costs an average of $2,439 per month.
In terms of Canada-wide numbers, the report notes that the “annual rate of rent inflation accelerated to a nine-month high” in September.
Rents increased 1.5 per cent month over month (August 2023 to September 2023) and 11.1 per cent year over year (September 2022 to September 2023).
Canada-wide averages out of the 35 cities examined by the report are $1,889 for a one-bedroom and $2,342 for a two-bedroom rental.
Thus, Hamilton one-bedroom rents are higher than the Canada-wide average while two-bedroom rents are slightly lower than the 35-city average.
Regarding rankings, the City of Hamilton is now the 18th most expensive city to rent a one-bedroom unit out of the 35 cities in the report.
Hamilton was number 19 in August, meaning that the city is moving in the wrong direction in terms of rent affordability.
Topping the list as most expensive are:
- Vancouver, B.C.
- Burnaby, B.C.
- Toronto, ON
- Oakville, ON
- Mississauga, ON
Most affordable are:
- Saskatoon, SK
- Regina, SK
- Fort McMurray, AB
- Red Deer, AB
- Quebec City, QC
The report also notes that “roommate rental listings have surged” across the country.
“As renters look to save on costs by obtaining roommates and property owners try to mitigate soaring mortgage payments by offering up space for rent, the volume of listings for shared accommodations over the past three months has grown 27 per cent compared to last year,” reads the analysis.
Other Local Cities
Other Hamilton-area cities included in the analysis are Burlington and St. Catharines.
Burlington ranks as the tenth most expensive one-bedroom unit rent with an average of $2,217 while St. Catharines ranks as the 25th most expensive with an average of $1,672.
It should be noted that the analysis does not include cities like Niagara Falls or Brantford.
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 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.
The data used in the Rentals.ca reports are based on the asking rates of available (vacant) units only and reflect on-going trends in the market in order to be “more representative of the actual market rent a prospective tenant would encounter.”
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.
