I was out showing houses today with some newcomers to Canada. They are currently renting a small apartment in Kitchener and they don’t like it. They don’t like anything about it, but it was the best they could do when they arrived. Among other things, they were complaining about how expensive it is to rent.
I’m not so sure.
I’ve been a homeowner now in Waterloo for fourteen years. Before that, we rented for a year – just like my newcomer clients are doing – giving ourselves a year to get grounded, learn about schools, homes and neighbourhoods. It was a good plan. It worked.
I was tempted to write as a next sentence, “the price of homes has more or less doubled (more) in the past 14 years but rents haven’t doubled”. But then I remembered, wages haven’t doubled either.
Ok forget that idea. Renting is renting a necessary step along the way. A good place to rent is hard to find. So how does Kitchener Waterloo rank amongst other Ontario cities in terms of rental rates?
Here is a handy chart.
Bachelor | 1 Bedroom | 2 Bedroom | 3+ Bedroom | |
Barrie | 731 | 986 | 1,118 | 1,305 |
Brantford | 648 | 782 | 855 | 946 |
Guelph | 674 | 868 | 988 | 1,146 |
Hamilton | 592 | 792 | 959 | 1,173 |
Kingston | 662 | 888 | 1,070 | 1,411 |
Kitchener | 667 | 815 | 975 | 1,106 |
London | 586 | 767 | 943 | 1,111 |
Niagara Region | 586 | 745 | 892 | 1,014 |
Oshawa | 724 | 885 | 1,010 | 1,153 |
Ottawa | 780 | 936 | 1,132 | 1,415 |
Peterborough | 638 | 803 | 952 | 1,149 |
Sudbury | 577 | 744 | 927 | 1,059 |
Thunder Bay | 574 | 738 | 888 | 1,099 |
Toronto | 896 | 1,067 | 1,251 | 1,458 |
Windsor | 518 | 664 | 798 | 912 |