By David Opinko

Home rental prices down significantly nationally, but up slightly in Lethbridge

Aug 18, 2020 | 10:46 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The COVID-19 pandemic has had many negative consequences for Canadian families, but if there is one small consolation, it now costs a little less to rent a home.

In the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research and Consulting, the average cost of rent for all Canadian properties in July was down 8.1 per cent from the same time last year at $1,771.

The median rental rate for the country fell to $1,700, a decrease of 6.8 per cent since July 2019.

“Anecdotally, we hear stories of tenants looking for larger units in less affluent areas to accommodate their work-from-home needs, while also acquiring more living space due to the much greater time spent at home,” reads a portion of the National Rent Report.

“Alternatively, some tenants are looking for less expensive places to live as their jobs have been lost, their hours cut, or they worry about their industry and their employment in the face of massive economic shifts due to the pandemic.”

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Alberta as a whole is in a similar boat with the average rent for all property types being $1,322 last July and $1,228 this year, marking a drop of 7.1 per cent.

Lethbridge, unfortunately, did not experience the same kind of reprieve.

Single-bedroom units listed on average for $956 per month, which is relatively unchanged from the month prior but up 4.2 per cent from last year.

For homes with two bedrooms, those fell in price by 2.8 percent from June but increased by 2.1 per cent from July 2019, now resting at $1,117.

Still, out of the five Albertan cities that were analyzed for this report, Lethbridge was still the second most affordable with only Red Deer costing less.

The provincial breakdown, with each city’s place on the national ranking in brackets, is as follows:

• Calgary (21/32)
  • One bedroom: $1,194, down 8.4 per cent from last year
  • Two bedrooms: $1,446, down 2.8 per cent from last year
• Edmonton (24/32)
  • One bedroom: $1,050, down 2.3 per cent from last year
  • Two bedrooms: $1,295, down 2.9 per cent from last year
• Grande Prairie (27/32)
  • One bedroom: $995, down 5.8 per cent from last year
  • Two bedrooms: $1,193, down 5.1 per cent from last year
• Lethbridge (28/32)
  • One bedroom: $956, up 4.2 per cent from last year
  • Two bedrooms: $1,117, up 2.1 per cent from last year
• Red Deer (32/32)
  • One bedroom: $872, down 16.3 per cent from last year
  • Two bedrooms: $1,022, down 13.4 per cent from last year

Everyone in Alberta can take solace in the fact that they do not have to pay the kinds of rental prices you would see in Toronto. It was once again the most expensive place to rent in the country with a typical one-bedroom unit going for $2,051 (-9.5 per cent) and two bedrooms for $2,709 (-2.6 per cent).