US EditionRental market swings back in tenants’ favour with lower prices and move-in incentives
Average asking rents fell 3.1% in 2025 amid rising vacancy rates and landlords offering incentives like free rent and move-in bonuses, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. data shows.
- Across Canada, average asking rents fell 3.1 per cent overall in 2025, December 2025 marked the 15th consecutive monthly decline, and the national average was $2,060 last month, down 2.3 per cent from a year earlier.
- A wave of new construction and policy shifts have added about 180,000 rental units under construction, while a trade dispute and federal government immigration cap limited demand and kept many first-time buyers renting.
- Landlords across Canada are increasingly offering incentives such as up to three months' free rent and a $500 move-in bonus, while vacancy for purpose-built rental apartments rose to 3.1 per cent and two-bedroom turnover rents declined last year, according to CMHC data.
- Tom Storey of Royal LePage Signature Realty noted `What was clear to me is that the need for real estate hasn't changed, but in 2025, how people chose to access it was a lot more on the leasing side than the purchase side`, as rents surged and buyers hesitated, while Mathieu Laberge said `The math works better for rentals than for large home ownership projects right now`.
- Despite recent falls, 2025 produced record rental housing starts and more apartment completions are expected this year, while asking rents remain around 14 per cent above pre-pandemic December 2019 and analysts warn demand must rise to absorb new listings.
33 Articles
33 Articles
2025 was the second consecutive year of record start-up of rental housing construction in Canada.
Rental market swings back in tenants’ favour with lower prices and move-in incentives
The “new year’s special” advertising a two-bedroom unit at a midtown Toronto highrise might be what draws you in when searching for your next home — an offer for up to three months of free rent, plus a $500 “move-in bonus.”
Winnipeg Free Press
Rental market swings back in tenants' favour with lower prices and move-in incentives
Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
Rental market swings back in tenants’ favour with lower prices and move-in incentives – 105.9 The Region
The “new year’s special” advertising a two-bedroom unit at a midtown Toronto highrise might be what draws you in when searching for your next home — an offer for up to three months of free rent, plus a $500 “move-in bonus.” Or perhaps a year of complementary internet, on top of two months’ free rent, sweetens the deal for those interested in a rental promoted in central Vancouver. Landlords across Canada are increasingly dangling such incentives…
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