Two-bedroom apartments in Hamilton nearing $2,150 a month

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Hamilton stayed above $1,700 in December, a new report has found.

One-bedroom units in Steeltown now cost tenants an average of $1,764 a month, according to a national rent report from property listing service Rentals.ca.

While that's a slight drop of 1.5 per cent from November, the price represents a jump of 13.5 per cent from last December.

Two-bedroom units in the city are now renting for an average of $2,145 - a nearly one per cent increase from November, but a more dramatic surge of 17.4 per cent from last December.

Hamilton's rents remain below the Ontario averages despite the sizable year-over-year increases, according to the report.

However, for a one-bedroom unit to be considered affordable in the eyes of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. - meaning 30 per cent or less of an individual's income going toward rent - the average tenant would need to make at least $5,880 a month in gross earnings.

Hamilton continues to be one of the top 20 most expensive cities for rent among the 35 communities included in the report.

Around the region

While Hamilton's rental rates continue to climb year-over-year, some neighbouring communities remain more expensive for renters, according to the report.

In Burlington, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment is $2,135, while two-bedroom units cost $2,546.

In Guelph, one-bedroom apartments are going for an average of $2,049, while two-bedroom flats cost tenants around $2,319.

In London, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment is $1,808, while the average rent for a two-bedroom unit sits at $2,153.

Meanwhile, St. Catharines continues to be cheaper for renters, with the average price of a one-bedroom apartment at $1,586, and the average rent for a two-bedroom unit at around $2,031.

Rentals.ca's latest rent rankings, analyzed and written by residential real estate research firm Urbanation, are the average of all monthly listings from Rentals.ca and Rentfaster.ca. That includes basement apartments, condos and units in single-detached homes.

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com