Hamilton rents went nearly unchanged in June — but increases to come as ‘market correction’ gets underway

While the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Hamilton went unchanged in June, tenants are still paying 11 per cent more than they did the same time last year.

Single apartments in Steeltown are costing renters an average of $1,603 a month, the same as they did in May, according to a national rent report from property listing service Rentals.ca.

It's still a marked increase from June 2021, when a one-bedroom flat cost an average of $1,436 - making for a difference of $167.

Bullpen Research and Consulting, the residential real-estate advisory firm that crunches the numbers for Rentals.ca, attributed some of that swell to rising interest rates, inflation and supply-chain issues, as well as immigration rates and the return of in-office work.

The firm noted that it expects rents to continue to rise, especially with a resale housing market correction underway."

The rent for a two-bedroom unit in Hamilton went down by less than a per cent in June, but was still nearly 17 per cent higher than the same time last year.

A two-bedroom apartment in the city costs an average of $2,055 a month, while back in June 2021, the same unit would have cost $1,772 - making for a difference of $283.

Around the region

While Hamilton's rental rates continue to sit near their record highs, some neighbouring communities have continued to outpace the city, according to the report.

In Burlington, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment is $2,030, while two-bedroom units cost $2,366.

In Guelph, one-bedroom apartments are going for an average of $1,966, while two-bedroom flats cost tenants around $2,271.

In Kitchener, the rent for a one-bedroom apartment costs around $1,825, while two-bedroom units cost around $2,115.

In London, the average price of a one-bedroom flat is $1,744, while the average rent for a two-bedroom unit sits at $2,059.

Rentals.ca's latest rent rankings are the average of all monthly listings on the website.

They include basement apartments, rental apartments, condos, townhouses, semi-detached and single-detached homes.

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