Has Calgary’s rental market finally hit a tipping point?

There are some signs that Calgary’s overheated rental market could finally be in for a cool down.

The average rental price in the city dropped by 1 per cent year-over-year in August, according to the most recent report from Rentals.ca.

It’s not a significant decrease but its the first drop since February 2021. A considerable change after months of annual increases that were 8 per cent or higher.

“We’ve passed the peak rental season and we’re going towards the slower time of the year where demand is typically less,” says Rentals.ca’s Giacomo Ladas

Ladas says Calgary’s average rent for all residential property types was down to $2,046 in August, brought on by factors like more apartments being finished and a decline in population growth.

The average one bedroom in the city was just shy of $1,800 in August, while a studio apartment was less than $1,500 and a two-bedroom was more than $2,200.

Asking rents for all residential properties across the country increase 3.3 per cent in August to an average of $2,187.

“Rent has increased exponentially for years now, we might be at this point where they can’t really go much higher because people won’t go to these cities and pay for it,” says Ladas.

He notes that Edmonton’s cost of rentals continued to increase last month, up 9 per cent year-over-year. The average cost in the provincial capital is still around $500 cheaper than Calgary.

Over 6,800 people were on the Calgary Housing Company’s waitlist for rental assistance last month.