Medicine Hat rents rise as national rental market continues to soften

Average apartment and condo rents in the city increased 4.5 per cent year over year, the fifth-largest annual increase among markets outside Canada’s six largest cities.

That put Medicine Hat behind only Barrie, Ont. (+14.3 per cent), Lloydminster (+12.8 per cent), Dartmouth, N.S. (+10.8 per cent) and Laval, Que. (+7.0 per cent) among the fastest-growing markets identified by the report.

The increase comes as Alberta’s rental market overall is becoming more affordable.

Across the province, the average asking rent for apartments and condominiums was $1,670 in August, down 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

Alberta’s average was below the national apartment-and-condo average of $2,040.

Nationally, the rental market continued its extended period of weakening prices.

The average asking rent for all property types fell to $2,035 in August, down 4.8 per cent from a year earlier and marking the 23rd consecutive month of annual declines.

Rents were essentially unchanged from July, slipping 0.1 per cent.

Over the past two years, the national average has fallen seven per cent, reaching its lowest August level since 2022.

The report suggests that Medicine Hat’s increase is therefore notable not simply because rents are rising, but because it is happening while many larger and more expensive markets are seeing significant declines.

Among Canada’s six largest markets, apartment and condo rents fell year over year in all six.

Calgary recorded the largest decline at 4.5 per cent, followed by Vancouver and Edmonton at 4.1 per cent.

Montreal was the most resilient of the six, with rents down just 1.1 per cent.

Medicine Hat remains substantially cheaper than those major centres.

Its $1,345 average apartment-and-condo asking rent was about $500 below Edmonton’s $1,820.

The affordability gap is even more pronounced when compared with Canada’s most expensive markets.

North Vancouver had the country’s highest average apartment-and-condo asking rent outside the six largest markets at $3,018, more than twice Medicine Hat’s average.

The report says the national rental market is facing several competing forces.

A record volume of apartment completions is adding supply, while a declining population is creating additional downward pressure on rents.

At the same time, improved affordability has brought some demand back into the market.

Economic uncertainty linked to new tariffs and counter-tariffs between Canada and the United States is another factor clouding the outlook.

The report says the direct exposure of the rental market to the trade dispute remains relatively narrow, but potential effects on business investment, employment and construction costs could spread more broadly.

For Medicine Hat, the latest numbers point to a market that remains inexpensive by national standards but is no longer following the same downward trajectory as many other Canadian communities.

The city also stands out within Alberta. Provincially apartment-and-condo rents dropped 4.3 per cent annually compared to Medicine Hat’s 4.5 per cent increase.

The Rentals.ca and Urbanation analysis is based on monthly listings from the Rentals.ca Network of internet listing services.

The figures measure asking rents on available listings and differ from rental statistics published by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat rents rise as national rental market continues to soften

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