The average monthly rental cost of an apartment in Red Deer increased by about $50 in February, but the city remains among the cheapest for small and mid-sized Canadian cities.
Meanwhile, average asking rents in Canada declined for the fifth consecutive month in February, falling 4.8 per cent to $2,088 — the lowest since July 2023, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.
Despite the decline, rents remained 5.2 per cent higher than two years ago and 16.9 per cent higher than the pre-COVID level five years ago.
Monthly rent for purpose-built and condo rental apartments in Red Deer cost an average of $1,373 last month, up 3.8 per cent from $1,322 in January.
In February, the city declined to sixth from fourth place in January when it comes to the lowest rental costs among the top 25 small and mid-sized Canadian cities.
The report also showed that seven of the 10 most affordable of those cities were in Alberta.
In addition to Red Deer, Alberta communities included Lloydminster ($1,178) which had the lowest average rent, Fort McMurray ($1,303) was second lowest, Grande Prairie ($1,365) was fourth lowest, Medicine Hat ($1,369) was sixth lowest, Lethbridge ($1,524) was eighth lowest, and St. Albert ($1,549) was ninth. Airdire ($1,718) had the 12th lowest average rent, and Sherwood Park ($1,772) was 15th lowest.
Outside of Alberta, the most affordable small and mid-sized cities were Regina with an average rent of $1,322, Saskatoon at $1,409, and Winnipeg with $1,612.
Average rents for purpose-built apartment and condo in Alberta in February cost $1,208 for a studio unit, $1,538 for a one-bedroom unit, $1,882 for two bedrooms and $2,146 for three bedrooms.
Average rents in Edmonton were $1,109 for a studio unit, $1,365 for a one-bedroom unit, $1,680 for two bedrooms and $1,959 for three bedrooms.
Average rents in Calgary were $1,395 for a studio unit, $1,682 for a one-bedroom unit, $2,077 for two bedrooms and $2,434 for three bedrooms.
Calgary saw the biggest annual decrease in apartment rents among Canada’s largest markets, falling seven per cent to an average of $1,916, while Edmonton rents continued to rise on an annual basis by 2.9 per cent in February to $1,531.
The National Rent Report charts and analyzes monthly, quarterly and annual rates and trends in the rental market on national, provincial and municipal levels across all listings on the Rentals.ca Network for Canada.
