At a glance
- Calgary’s average monthly rent price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit fell by $21, to $1,555.
- In Edmonton, rental rates for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit rose by $107 to a new average of $1,151.
- It now costs an average of $346 more to rent a furnished, one-bedroom unit in Calgary than it does to rent an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit.
Looking for our full May 2023 Calgary & Edmonton Rent Report? Download your copy here to get all the latest insights, including a detailed breakdown by neighbourhood.
This May, average rent prices for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit have fallen slightly in Calgary while increasing by quite a bit in Edmonton. Regardless of these changes, both Calgary and Edmonton still have rent prices well below other Canadian rental markets we report on, such as Vancouver and Toronto. We’ll continue to monitor trends in both of these cities to see where Calgary and Edmonton‘s rent prices end up by year’s end, amid the backdrop of continued inflationary pressure and higher mortgage rates.
Founded in 2015, liv.rent is Canada’s safest rental platform and all-in-one landlord productivity tool. We publish monthly Rent Reports for Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal – and now Calgary and Edmonton as well. After receiving a number of requests, we’ve expanded our reports to Alberta – looking at data from our own liv.rent listings as well as from other popular listing sites in the area. For more information on how we gather data for our Rent Reports, please consult our Data collection methodology.
We’ve recently published our 2022 Canada-wide Annual Rent Report with even more rental data and statistics, including overarching trends 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 May 2023. 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
Ending a three-month streak of consecutive increases, Calgary’s average rent prices for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit have fallen slightly this month. For May 2023, the city’s rental rates fell by just $21, bringing Calgary’s average monthly rent price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit to $1,555.
Average unfurnished vs. furnished rates
Unfurnished vs. furnished rates in Calgary
While average prices for unfurnished units fell, prices for furnished, one-bedroom units in Calgary have risen by a not insignificant margin this May. For the city as a whole, the average monthly rent for a furnished, one-bedroom unit is now $1,901, while unfurnished, one-bedroom units now rent for an average of $1,555 per month – a -1.35% decrease from March. This substantial $346 difference in price means that landlords can earn a considerably 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
Edmonton’s city-wide average rent prices for unfurnished, one-bedroom units have soared this May, rising by $107 this May. This brings the city’s rental rates to $1,151 after a sudden dip in price last month, continuing the city’s up-and-down price trend that has characterized 2023 so far.
Unfurnished vs. furnished rates in Edmonton
In Edmonton, average monthly rent prices rose for both furnished and unfurnished, one-bedroom units this month. As of May 2023, furnished units in Edmonton rent for an average of $1,285 per month, while unfurnished, one-bedroom units rent for an average of $1,151. This $134 difference 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 these cities’ average rental prices, let’s now break down both Calgary and Edmonton into their constituent quadrants/sectors. We’ll examine prices for one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, as well as divide each up into unfurnished and furnished for more accurate analysis.
Quadrant breakdown: Calgary
Unfurnished units
- City Centre had the most expensive one-, two-, and three-bedroom unfurnished units this month.
- Prices for two-bedroom, unfurnished units rose in every Calgary quadrant this May.
- Southwest Calgary had the second-most expensive one- and two-bedroom unfurnished units this month following price increases for both of these unit types.
Furnished units
- Calgary City Centre had the most expensive one-, two-, and three-bedroom, furnished units, on average – for the sixth straight month.
- Prices rose across the board for furnished one-, two-, and three-bedroom units in Southwest Calgary this May.
- Northwest Calgary had the least expensive one-bedroom, furnished units this May.
Sector breakdown: Edmonton
Unfurnished units
- Prices for unfurnished one-, two-, and three-bedroom units increased on average in Downtown Edmonton this month.
- Northeast Edmonton had the least expensive average rent prices for one- and two-bedroom unfurnished units this month.
- Only two types of units saw a month-to-month decrease in rent price this month: two-bedroom, unfurnished units in Northeast Edmonton and three-bedroom, unfurnished units in Southwest Edmonton.
Furnished units
- Northeast Edmonton had the least expensive one-, two-, and three-bedroom, furnished units this month.
- Downtown Edmonton had the highest average prices for one-bedroom, furnished units, which were $119 more expensive than the next most expensive sector, Southeast Edmonton.
- West Edmonton had the most expensive three-bedroom, furnished units this month by a wide margin.
Downloadable resources
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Free Virtual Backgrounds
Download the latest Calgary & Edmonton rental stats and use as your zoom background.
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:
April 2023 Metro Vancouver Rent Report
April 2023 Toronto Rent Report
April 2023 Calgary & Edmonton Rent Report
April 2023 Montreal Rent Report
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