Skip to content

Rents are falling, so why does it still feel so expensive?

March 18, 2026 · 23 min

Show notes

Renters in Canada are finally catching a break. In Canada’s biggest cities, rents have been falling for more than a year and vacancy rates are rising. Some landlords are even offering incentives like free months of rent and move-in bonuses to attract tenants. But the reality on the ground is more complicated.

In this episode, Roma and The Globe’s consumer affairs reporter Mariya Postelnyak unpack how many deals there really are in today’s rental market. We hear from a Toronto renter who recently searched for a new apartment and discovered that while competition may be easing, securing a place still takes strategy and a little budget flexibility. Then, Mariya speaks with housing analyst Shaun Hildebrand of Urbanation about the forces behind the shifting rental market. He explains why rents have been dropping in major cities, where the deals are and what the data suggests could happen next.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

All episodes of Stress Test

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.