Latest news with #GiacomoLadas
CTV News
15-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
1-bedroom rents in Lethbridge drop as 2-bedroom rents rise
New rental asks for one-bedroom apartments in Lethbridge are $1,325 on average, according to the latest rent report from New rental asks for one-bedroom apartments in Lethbridge are $1,325 on average, according to the latest rent report from That's down nearly three per cent from the same time last year. It follows the national trend, which has seen rents drop 2.7 per cent across Canada. 'Interesting because this is, you know, the heaviest time of year for rentals, right? This is the peak summer season. … But that hasn't really been the case,' said Giacomo Ladas, associate communications director for The average two-bedroom rental is up 4.7 per cent and now sits at $1,617. Higher cost of living has many people looking for roommates, driving up demand. Many are also staying in one apartment longer and want more space. 'People are not seeming to want one-bedroom apartments as much as they used to. … It used to be about 50 to 60 per cent of all leads that we saw for rentals, I'd say, were for one-bedroom apartments. And then over the last couple of years, that has really decreased, where we've seen a huge jump in two- and three-bedrooms,' said Ladas. A drop in rents for smaller units hasn't stopped people from needing to turn to rent supports. Lethbridge Housing Authority now has more than 1,500 people and families on its waitlist for rent-supplemented units. 'I think we need more purpose-built rentals in the city of Lethbridge. We're very short of that. Once we get more of that, that will help ease the demand on the system. And eventually it will start to stabilize those rents,' said Lethbridge Housing Authority CAO Robin James. With big cities like Calgary and Edmonton in prime position to build more housing, rent across Alberta could become more affordable. 'Look at Vancouver; you can only build so much because of the ocean (and) there's the mountains. It's very limited in how you can expand it. Calgary, Edmonton—these cities, luckily, you can,' said Ladas.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cooling rental market provides window of opportunity for Calgary renters to find deals
Gone are the days of soaring rents, lineups for viewings and upfront rental application fees in Calgary — at least for now. Those keeping a close eye on the rental market say this is a good time for Calgary renters to look for deals as move-in incentives return in full swing. In May, Calgary once again posted the steepest year-over-year decrease for asking rents among major markets, down 7.9 per cent to an average of $1,928 for an apartment, according to the latest report by rental listing company It's the 10th month in a row that asking rents in Calgary have fallen. "It's actually below Montreal now, it's below London, it's below Hamilton and Kingston. So it's kind of really falling on our rankings, which I guess is a good thing for Calgary renters," said Giacomo Ladas, associate director of communications with He said Calgary is now catching up with trends in Toronto and Vancouver, where rental prices have been falling for 16 and 18 months respectively. It's a big change from what Calgary renters have seen in recent years. "There was one point early last year where we were seeing 15 to 20 per cent increases year over year," said Ladas. Statistics Canada is reporting similar numbers. It recently launched a new program with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to publish information on asking rents for the first time. The first report said average asking rents — that's the initial price that landlords request for a unit — fell roughly $170 between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025. Jean-Philippe Deschamps-Laporte with Statistics Canada said it's important to publish this information because it provides a much more current look at the market compared to the annual rental market survey CMHC publishes. "This is relevant and timely information to know. Like, if you're expecting a child, how much does it cost to add a bedroom? Or if you wish to move to Red Deer, [what] does that look like?" Both Ladas and Deschamps-Laporte attributed the drop in rent to a surge of new supply, mixed with a decrease in demand as international migration slows and Canadians choose to move to smaller centres instead. With the market shifting, moving incentives have returned in Calgary. A quick search of websites like and RentFaster show various types of incentives offered by landlords — including two months of free rent, six months of free storage, a $1,000 discount on security deposits and $500 signing bonuses. Ladas said this is a "nice little pocket" for renters to take advantage of the incentives while they last, but it's not yet time to breathe a huge sigh of relief. He said he isn't sure how long incentives will be around, but he suspects many new buildings coming online were greenlighted when interest rates plummeted. Ladas said the amount of new supply could slow over the next couple of years, now that interest rates have risen. Additionally, a recent CMHC report said Calgary needs to build nearly 9,000 more units a year — on top of the record amounts of housing already being built — to restore pre-pandemic affordability levels. He added Calgary's rental market is still particularly difficult for low-income renters as Calgarians cling onto their cheaper rentals due to ongoing economic uncertainty. "Low-income renters are the ones who are kind of suffering the most because they're in competition for a very small pool of available rental units and they're in competition with people who aren't necessarily low-income," said Ladas. Statistics Canada's new program also includes reporting of prices of single rooms for the first time, aimed to provide fresh information to low-income renters, seniors and students. The average asking rent for a single room in Calgary in the first quarter of 2025 was $740. That marks a $40 decrease from the same period in 2024, but it's significantly higher than the $550 figure recorded in 2020, according to Deschamps-Laporte. "That's a significant increase, especially if you're on a fixed income," said Deschamps-Laporte.
CTV News
03-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Vacancy rate, rent prices continue to rise in Halifax
Many Halifax landlords are offering incentives to prospective renters in order to fill vacancies. Halifax's rental vacancy rate has reached approximately 3.1 per cent – a notable jump from the historically low levels seen roughly a year-and-a-half ago – but rental prices are continuing to rise. 'Nationally, asking rents are down about three-and-a-half per cent compared to this time last,' said Giacomo Ladas, spokesperson for 'But Halifax saw a three per cent increase year-over-year – and when you look at once-bedroom apartments, Halifax is actually up over seven per cent.' According to Kevin Russell, executive director of Rental Housing Providers of Nova Scotia, leasing activity has slowed down significantly. 'It's taking a lot longer to lease apartments,' he said. 'What used to take six months is now taking eight or nine – even to get to 95 or 96 per cent occupancy in new builds.' He said a lot of it has to do with fewer international students. 'We've seen a lot of international students leaving the area and that opens up more units to the market and that's why the vacancy rate is going up,' he said. Crane A crane works on a building in Halifax. (Source: Hafsa Arif/CTV News Atlantic) That lag has prompted rental incentives from property managers, particularly in newer, more expensive buildings that were constructed during peak inflation. 'They're offering one or two months free rent, free internet, or even gift cards,' said Ladas. 'They'd rather give renters something than drop the asking price.' Both Ladas and Russell say the market is struggling to meet demand for more affordable rentals. While high-end units sit longer on the market, more budget-friendly apartments remain in short supply – with vacancy rates under one per cent for rentals priced below $1,400 a month. 'There's just no inventory in the lower rental segment,' Ladas said. 'Those units don't exist, and that's where the demand.' The influx of new units – roughly 1,700 are expected to hit the market in the next eight or nine months – could help ease some pressure. But both experts warn that unless governments step in to reduce construction costs and red tape, truly affordable housing may remain out of reach. 'Newer buildings were constructed with materials during the height of inflation,' said Russell. 'That's reflected in the rents and it's not what people are looking for.' 'We still need more supply, especially affordable supply. Without it, these rental challenges will persist,' Ladas said. Construction A building under construction in Halifax is pictured. (Source: Hafsa Arif/CTV News Atlantic) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Halifax 'asking rents' climbed in May as other Canadian cities saw decreases from 2024
Asking rents for new apartment listings in Halifax continued to climb in May, even as cities in other provinces are seeing lower rents than they were a year ago, according to a recent report by Urbanation and For months now, asking rents in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver have consistently been lower than they were the previous year, said Giacomo Ladas, spokesperson for But in Halifax, average asking rents in May for two-bedroom apartments rose 5.4 per cent year over year to $2,623, according to the report that's based on monthly listings from the network. Halifax is "climbing up our rental list of most expensive markets," said Ladas. According to data from Statistics Canada, Nova Scotia was the only province as of April that had seen an overall increase in its rent inflation rate in the previous six months. Rents in the province were up an average of 8.1 per cent in April compared to last year. In November, rent inflation was at 6.4 per cent and had generally been on a downward trend since October 2023 — when the figure was at a double-digit level. But one expert said there can be volatility in short-term data, and that there are encouraging signs the rental market in Halifax and elsewhere in Atlantic Canada may be reaching a "turning point" when it comes to the pace of rent increases. "We're certainly seeing a rebalancing [of the market], let's say, where there is lower demand," said real estate consultant Neil Lovitt, adding that some apartments are becoming more difficult to lease. He said this slowdown is mostly at the top end of the market and with newer units, which can be much more expensive than older housing. The top end is "where we would expect to see those changes happen first," Lovitt said. "Those are the ones that are first to sort of lose demand as more affordable alternatives become available, or there's less competition forcing people to have to reach to those heights." Ladas concurred about this trend at the top end and said there's now higher vacancy with new units, particularly those located downtown. "That's why you're seeing some landlords offer a lot of incentives such as one month free rent," Ladas said. While there are signs the rental market in Nova Scotia is improving, Lovitt warns that a problem that stops getting worse isn't the same as a problem solved. He worries about continued government motivation to do things such as grow the volume of non-market housing like co-ops and public housing — which some experts say is needed to create a more affordable housing system. "Even if prices stop increasing entirely for a number of years … a significant portion of the population now just simply cannot afford housing at current prices." MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
29-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Cooling rental market provides window of opportunity for Calgary renters to find deals
Social Sharing Gone are the days of soaring rents, lineups for viewings and upfront rental application fees in Calgary — at least for now. Those keeping a close eye on the rental market say this is a good time for Calgary renters to look for deals as move-in incentives return in full swing. In May, Calgary once again posted the steepest year-over-year decrease for asking rents among major markets, down 7.9 per cent to an average of $1,928 for an apartment, according to the latest report by rental listing company It's the 10th month in a row that asking rents in Calgary have fallen. "It's actually below Montreal now, it's below London, it's below Hamilton and Kingston. So it's kind of really falling on our rankings, which I guess is a good thing for Calgary renters," said Giacomo Ladas, associate director of communications with He said Calgary is now catching up with trends in Toronto and Vancouver, where rental prices have been falling for 16 and 18 months respectively. It's a big change from what Calgary renters have seen in recent years. "There was one point early last year where we were seeing 15 to 20 per cent increases year over year," said Ladas. Statistics Canada is reporting similar numbers. It recently launched a new program with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to publish information on asking rents for the first time. The first report said average asking rents — that's the initial price that landlords request for a unit — fell roughly $170 between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025. Jean-Philippe Deschamps-Laporte with Statistics Canada said it's important to publish this information because it provides a much more current look at the market compared to the annual rental market survey CMHC publishes. "This is relevant and timely information to know. Like, if you're expecting a child, how much does it cost to add a bedroom? Or if you wish to move to Red Deer, [what] does that look like?" Both Ladas and Deschamps-Laporte attributed the drop in rent to a surge of new supply, mixed with a decrease in demand as international migration slows and Canadians choose to move to smaller centres instead. Free rent, signing bonuses With the market shifting, moving incentives have returned in Calgary. A quick search of websites like and RentFaster show various types of incentives offered by landlords — including two months of free rent, six months of free storage, a $1,000 discount on security deposits and $500 signing bonuses. Ladas said this is a "nice little pocket" for renters to take advantage of the incentives while they last, but it's not yet time to breathe a huge sigh of relief. He said he isn't sure how long incentives will be around, but he suspects many new buildings coming online were greenlighted when interest rates plummeted. Ladas said the amount of new supply could slow over the next couple of years, now that interest rates have risen. Additionally, a recent CMHC report said Calgary needs to build nearly 9,000 more units a year — on top of the record amounts of housing already being built — to restore pre-pandemic affordability levels. He added Calgary's rental market is still particularly difficult for low-income renters as Calgarians cling onto their cheaper rentals due to ongoing economic uncertainty. "Low-income renters are the ones who are kind of suffering the most because they're in competition for a very small pool of available rental units and they're in competition with people who aren't necessarily low-income," said Ladas. Statistics Canada's new program also includes reporting of prices of single rooms for the first time, aimed to provide fresh information to low-income renters, seniors and students. The average asking rent for a single room in Calgary in the first quarter of 2025 was $740. That marks a $40 decrease from the same period in 2024, but it's significantly higher than the $550 figure recorded in 2020, according to Deschamps-Laporte.
