Rental prices in Alberta grow at fastest pace in 40 years

In Alberta, rental prices inflated in the past year at a pace not seen in four decades, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index data from Statistics Canada.

In Alberta, rental prices inflated in the past year at a pace not seen in four decades, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index data from Statistics Canada.

Rent in Alberta in October was nearly 10 per cent higher than in October 2022 — the highest year-over-year increase Statistics Canada recorded in the province since the end of 1982. (The agency changed its methodology for tracking rent in early 2019.)

"Everybody has their own budgets and personal situation to wrestle with," said David Dale-Johnson, executive professor of real estate at the University of Alberta's business school.

"Things will get better. Inflation is certainly going to not stay where it is."

The average rent for any residential rental property in Alberta was $1,876 last month, suggesting the rental market is still more affordable than provinces like B.C. and Ontario, according to data obtained from Rentals.ca.

But the average rent in Alberta increased 14 per cent from November 2022, which was higher than the other provinces Rentals.ca tracks. The data obtained excluded Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.