Canada’s cap on the intake of international students into the country has led to the student rental market “cooling rapidly,” Rentals.ca said in a report Tuesday.
Since the federal government instituted an international student cap last year, cities with high concentrations of students have seen the steepest declines in rents, the data showed.
This comes after the international student population nearly doubled between 2020 and 2023, leading to “record-breaking demand and limited availability” of affordable rental units for students, the report said.
“Canada’s student rental market is cooling rapidly due to new federal limits on international study permits, leading to lower prices and more options for student renters near major post-secondary institutions across the country,” Rentals.ca said.
Ontario and British Columbia, which have the highest populations of international students, saw the steepest decline in rents.
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Average rents dropped 5.8 per cent in Ontario and there were larger declines in Toronto (8.1 per cent), Kitchener-Waterloo (6.8 per cent) and London (6.6 per cent). These cities are home to some of Canada’s largest post-secondary institutions, the report noted.
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The provincial average rent fell 5.4 per cent in B.C., with Vancouver down 8.3 per cent, Victoria down eight per cent and Burnaby down 11.5 per cent, the report said.
A breakdown of average asking rents by neighbourhood shows that the declines appear to be centred largely around universities and colleges. Around McGill University, one-bedroom rents decreased by 4.4 per cent, compared with a 1.3 per cent decline citywide in Montreal, according to the data.
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Dalhousie University in Halifax saw rents fall 9.9 per cent, compared with a decline of 8.7 per cent citywide.
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“With fewer international students entering the country, we’re seeing a real correction in post-secondary housing markets,” Rentals.ca spokesperson Giacomo Ladas said.
“For the first time in years, student renters are finding more affordable listings and less competition for housing near campuses,” Ladas added.
The slowing population growth is easing the pressure on Canada’s housing market, a new report by TD Bank said on Tuesday.
The report said it helped moderate demand for purpose-built rentals and stemmed the spike in rents across the country.
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Average asking rents for all residential properties in September in Canada declined by 3.2 per cent compared with September last year, dropping to $2,123 a month and marking the 12th consecutive month of rents declining in Canada, a recent report showed.
Compared with September 2023, rents were down 1.2 per cent, marking the first two-year decline since January 2022.
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