Rent increases moderated in Hamilton in 2024 compared to 2023. The annual Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report on purpose-built rents (mainly in apartment buildings) showed the average rent for all types of apartments in the old city of Hamilton rose by just 0.6 per cent, the lowest increase since 2009. One-bedroom units rose the most, by 2 per cent to $1,343, and the average for bachelor and two-bedroom units actually fell a bit.
That of course just means already high rents did not get worse. You’d still need an income of almost $54,000 a year for the average one-bedroom to be affordable (at 30% of income) and almost $60,000 for the average two bedroom.
The 2024 results were a marked improvement over the almost 15 per cent increase from 2022 to 2023.
There are still big challenges for new tenants or those who move. The average rent for units that were vacated was 27.8 per cent higher than for units that didn’t see a tenant change (that figure is for all of Hamilton, plus Burlington and Grimsby). That’s because landlords can raise the rent by any amount on rent-controlled units that are vacated. Called “rent decontrol,” it’s a huge incentive to find ways to have longtime tenants with affordable rents move out.
The rent picture varied across the city.
There were large rent increases in the Stoney Creek-Grimsby area—15 per cent on one-bedroom and bachelor units and almost 7 per cent on two-bedrooms—while the Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough Glanbrook area saw an 11 per cent increase for bachelor units but declines of 5.6 per cent for one-bedrooms and 12 per cent for two-bedrooms.
Burlington saw big increases in average rents—23 per cent for bachelors, 7 per cent for one-bedrooms and almost 10 per cent for two-bedrooms.
The CMHC report attributes the moderation in 2024 to an increase in the number of units and a decrease in demand because there were fewer foreign students. That seems at odds, though, with the fact that the largest increase in supply was in Stoney Creek-Grimsby, which had 17 per cent or 358 more units in 2024 yet saw the largest rent increases in the area. Burlington and Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Glanbrook saw little change in supply. The old city of Hamilton grew by 304 units or less than 1 per cent. Student demand would have been most affected near McMaster and Mohawk but the rent changes in those areas were consistent with the rest of the old city.