Asking Rents in Brampton Fell Slightly in October

Newcomers and international students looking for housing in Brampton will find rent prices for a one-bedroom fell slightly in October.

The latest rent price report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation shows the asking price for a one-bedroom in Brampton in October was $2,075, down 0.2 percent from September.

Year over year, rent prices in Brampton, a popular landing spot for Indian immigrants located just 40 kilometres from Toronto, are down 5.5 percent from October 2023.

The asking rent for a two-bedroom unit—popular with newcomers who want to live in Brampton—was $2,338 in October. That's down 1.1 percent from September and 7.0 percent from October 2023.

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Brampton is the third-largest city (pop. estimate 697,335) in the Great Toronto Area, behind Toronto and Mississauga. According to the new Rentals.ca report, Brampton has the eleventh-highest rent prices in Canada, just behind Barrie, Ontario.

Rents are down 6 percent in Ontario this year, with the highest decreases happening in college towns. According to Canadian housing expert Mike Moffatt, this is an indication that rental balance is starting to be restored to the student housing market.

Demand for Brampton rentals is down

Vancouver is No. 1 with a one-bedroom rental for $2,610. Toronto is third at $2,380. Rents in those two cities, which are extremely popular with newcomers to Canada, continue to fall.

Data from Statistics Canada shows that immigrants have become the dominant population of Brampton (and Mississauga). According to 2021 surveys, 52.9 percent of people in Brampton indicate their birth was outside Canada.

(Drone footage by Lvfree Adventures)

According to the census, Brampton had the fifth-largest immigrant population in Canada (and third-largest in Ontario). India is the most common place of birth, and the Indian population of Brampton is 180,000.

The most recent Renysync National Rental Demand Report shows that the demand for rental housing in Mississauga/Brampton was down month over month from October from September for both one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.

According to Rental.ca's latest report, rent prices fell slightly in Brampton in October

Brampton becoming a renter's market

The Rentsync report predicts that the rental market in GTA cities such as Brampton is transitioning into a "renter's market" featuring more competition among landlords for tenants. The report says this may cause active renters, such as immigrants and international students, to be more selective as landlords search for new ways to attract them.

"The growth in available properties combined with the continued decline of unique (tenant) prospects signals that we are transitioning into a renters market," said Rentsync's David Aizikov. "With declining demand and growing supply, renters who remain on (the) market are in a stronger position when looking for new housing than they would have been anytime in the past 2 years."

The average monthly cost of living in Brampton, including rent, is approximately $2,899. To live comfortably in Brampton or Mississauga (or anywhere in the Greater Toronto Area), you must earn more than $25 an hour.

Brampton's current unemployment rate is 8 percent

The minimum wage in Ontario as of Oct. 1, 2024, is $17.20 per hour, and the student minimum wage is now $16.20 per hour.

Related Story: Best Brampton Neighbourhoods for Renting

Brampton's unemployment rate in October was 8.0 percent, unchanged from September. In October 2024, the unemployment rate in Ontario was 6.8 percent, and nationally, it was 6.5 percent.

Homeownership is widespread in Brampton

Brampton is also popular with homebuyers. It has one of the highest homeownership rates (80 percent) in the Great Toronto Area.

According to WOWA, the benchmark home price in Brampton in September 2024 was $984,000. That's down 5.9 percent from September 2023.

The average sold price of a Brampton home in September is $1.035,184, down 0.6 percent from last year. The average detached home price decreased by 1.8 percent yearly to $1.19M.

Action Plan for Newcomers Settling in Brampton:

Follow and read our monthly Housing Newsletter for Newcomers and International Students.
Research rental housing in Brampton before you arrive.
Look for landlords offering incentives as rental demand slows.
Work with a Brampton settlement agency to make your transition to Canada successful.

SOURCES:

Rentals.ca, Rentsync, WOWA, Lvfree Adventures, Statistics Canada

If you have a question, please email us at rentals@prepareforcanada.com

Steve Tustin is the Editor for Rentals for Newcomers and a contributing editor for Prepare for Canada. He is also the former managing editor of Storeys.com and a former senior editor at the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

*No AI-generated content was used in the writing of this story, and all sources are cited and credited where possible.