At a glance
- Rates fall in Calgary this February – The average monthly rent price for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Calgary has decreased by $56 since January. Rental rates in the city had been steadily increasing since October after a significant dip, but have now returned to just below their December levels.
- Average rent prices level off in Edmonton – Edmonton’s average monthly rate for unfurnished one-bedroom units increased by just $2, or +0.13%, this month. Though this month’s increase was slight, it still marks six consecutive month-to-month rate increases, with prices for a 1br unfurnished unit rising $162 since August 2023.
- Will Edmonton’s rent prices see a surge similar to Calgary’s? – Based on February data, Edmonton saw a larger year-over-year increase in its rental rates than Calgary. The city’s relative affordability continues to attract both buyers and renters, combined with growing interest in Edmonton’s industrial market.
Looking for our full February 2024 Calgary & Edmonton Rent Report? Download your copy here to get all the latest insights, including a detailed breakdown by neighbourhood.
Average rent prices have decreased in Calgary this month while rising slightly in Edmonton. Rates in Alberta’s two major cities have largely risen throughout the winter, but have levelled off this February. The Bank of Canada’s target overnight rate remains at 5% following a recent announcement on January 24th, which has been cause for cautious optimism among landlords and investors heading into the new year. We’ll continue to monitor trends in both of these cities to see where Calgary and Edmonton‘s rent prices stand in the coming months.
We’ve recently published our 2024 Canada Rental Market Trend Report with in-depth analysis of average rent prices, driving factors, and predictions for the year ahead. You can download your copy here.
Let’s take a look now at the current rental costs and overarching trends in Calgary and Edmonton for February 2024. Don’t forget, you can download the entire report as a one-page infographic PDF below.
Download The Latest Calgary and Edmonton Rent Reports
For the complete Calgary and Edmonton rent reports, download here.
Average rent across Calgary
This February, Calgary’s city-wide average monthly rent price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit fell by $56, bringing the rate for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit to $1,665. This brings the city’s average rent prices back to their fall levels, just slightly below November rates.
Month-to-month rent change
This chart breaks down the percentage change in rent prices across all of Calgary’s quadrants between January and February 2024.
Average rates for unfurnished one-bedroom units rose the most in Northwest Calgary while falling the most in Southeast Calgary. Looking at furnished units, we observed no significant month-to-month increases while the largest decrease was seen in Southwest Calgary.
Average unfurnished vs. furnished rates
Unfurnished vs. furnished rates in Calgary
Average rates for both furnished & unfurnished one-bedroom units in Calgary have fallen this February. Looking at the city as a whole, the average monthly rent for a furnished one-bedroom unit is down -3.35%, renting for an average of $1,802 this month. Prices for unfurnished, one-bedroom units fell -3.27%, to a new average cost of $1,665 per month.
At present, furnished units cost an average of $137 more per month to rent than unfurnished units, meaning that landlords can generally earn a higher profit by renting their units furnished, whereas renters will be able to save considerably on rent by bringing their own furniture.
Average rent across Edmonton
In Edmonton, city-wide average rent prices for unfurnished one-bedroom units have increased slightly this February. This month, the city’s rental rates rose by just $2, bringing Edmonton’s average monthly rent price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit to $1,269 per month.
Month-to-month rent change
This chart breaks down the percentage change in rent prices across all of Edmonton’s different sectors between January and February 2024.
Average rent prices for unfurnished one-bedroom units rose the most in Downtown Edmonton, falling the most in the city’s Northeast sector. Prices for furnished one-bedroom units increased the most in West Edmonton this month, while we didn’t observe any month-to-month decreases out of the areas we looked at.
Unfurnished vs. furnished rates in Edmonton
In Edmonton, average monthly rent prices for furnished one-bedroom units rose substantially (+6.47%), while prices for unfurnished one-bedroom units also rose, albeit very slightly (+0.13%), this month. As of February 2024, furnished units in Edmonton rent for an average of $285 more than unfurnished units. This indicates that landlords who can rent their units furnished would benefit from doing so, particularly if they plan to rent their units on a short-term basis.
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Quadrant/Sector breakdown
To get a better sense of each of these cities’ average rental prices, let’s now break down both Calgary and Edmonton into their constituent quadrants/sectors. We’ll examine prices & trends for one-, two-, and three-bedroom units in each city for a more in-depth analysis.
Quadrant breakdown: Calgary
- Calgary City Centre had the highest average rent prices for all types of units this month, except for three-bedroom furnished units.
- Northeast Calgary had the lowest rates for all types of units, both furnished and unfurnished this month.
- Prices for furnished one-bedroom units fell in every sector except Northeast Calgary.
Sector breakdown: Edmonton
- West Edmonton had the lowest average rent prices for one- and two-bedroom unfurnished units this month.
- Southwest Edmonton had the highest rates for all types of unfurnished units, as well as three-bedroom furnished units.
- Prices for three-bedroom unfurnished units fell in every sector except for Downtown Edmonton.
Downloadable resources
Download The Latest Calgary and Edmonton Rent Reports
For the complete Calgary and Edmonton rent reports, download here.
Rental resources for Alberta renters
You can read these comprehensive guides for more information on renting in Alberta and using liv.rent to streamline your rental process.
- FAQ: Landlord & tenant responsibilities in Alberta
- FAQ: Everything you need to know about rent deposits in Alberta
- The Complete User Guide To liv.rent For Landlords & Property Managers
- The Ultimate Renter’s Guide To Using liv.rent
Data collection methodology
Our monthly rent reports use data from our own liv.rent listings, as well as data our team manually collects from other popular listing sites – looking at available basement suites, apartments, condos, townhouses, semi-detached houses, and single-detached houses for each area.
When collecting this data, we do exclude luxury properties listed at over $5,000, as well as rooms for rent and shared accommodation. Investing in manual data collection means that we only consider the current month’s listing, since we can filter out duplicate listings and older ads that haven’t been removed.
Another key difference between our data collection methods and some government agencies like the CMHC is that we only include current asking rent prices. Many official reports will include data for entire buildings in their reports, which tends to skew numbers lower since many units are already occupied, and may be rent-controlled or rented for significantly lower than the current rates.
As we are a Canadian rental platform founded and based in Vancouver, we want to ensure that we’re providing a completely accurate depiction of the rental market in the cities we look at.
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Subscribe to receive these monthly updates on the Vancouver rental market. Discover last month’s Rent Reports below:
January 2024 Metro Vancouver Rent Report
January 2024 Toronto Rent Report
January 2024 Calgary & Edmonton Rent Report
January 2024 Montreal Rent Report
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