Brampton rent is increasing at a much higher rate than Toronto, and if it doesn’t slow down B-Town will catch up with TO before long. In fact, Brampton has seen one of the largest increases in the market, with prices today reaching what Toronto’s were last year.
The October 2019 Rent Report, produced by Rentals.ca and Bullpen Consulting, as well as additional data provided to Bramptonist by Bullpen, gives an indication of the comparative average rental rate for all property types for the cities of Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto proper and Etobicoke, from October 2018 to September 2019.
Within the span of about a year, Brampton has seen rates rise in rates at a rate of 14.1%, from $1,997 to $2,278. This is among the sharpest rise of the cities in the study, with a massive increase of 19.5% between May and August 2019.
In the same time period, Toronto has seen a steady rise of 7.5%, from $2,386 to $2,565. Similarly, Mississauga has seen a rise of 6.7% from $2,207 to $2,354, which was just slightly more than Etobicoke’s 6.3% rise in the same time period.
In the month between August and September rents lowered across the board for these four cities, with Brampton, having had the sharpest rise since May, also experiencing the sharpest drop by 4.6% month-over-month.
Across the country, average asking rents for all property types are the highest in Ontario, at $2,334, about 2.4 times that of the lowest in Newfoundland and Labrador, which had an average of just $960 per month.
Housing affordability was one of the issues voters considered heading into this year’s federal elections. “Any potential policy changes that could make it easier for first-time buyers,” said Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Consulting, “may take pressure off the rental market, which continues to rise nationally.”
Additionally, in the province of Ontario, the Ford government removed rent control from new buildings almost a year ago, which may be part of the general upward pressure on rent in the province.