After months and months of continued increases, totalling more than $200 in price hikes since January, the average Montreal rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment fell by $22 in July. This places the new average at $1,517 per month. That average only crossed over the $1,500 threshold in June, according to recent reports from liv.rent.

The months-long price increases in Montreal were largely echoed in the Vancouver and Toronto housing markets, according to the full report. This isn’t necessarily comforting — all three cities are in active housing crises. But unlike Montreal, both cities saw average rents increase in July, liv.rent says.

In the Vancouver area, increasing rents have solidified the area's standing as the most expensive in the country.

The price of an average unfurnished one-bedroom there was $2,176 at the beginning of August — beating even the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), whose average was $1,979 this month. That means your average unfurnished-home-having Vancouverite is paying over $26,000 per year on housing alone.

Even Montreal’s most expensive neighbourhood in the liv.rent report this month (the downtown area, naturally) only averaged $1,758. It’s a sobering figure, but anything beats a cool two thousand per month.

By comparison, Montreal is doing relatively well. The rental platform says the gap between furnished and unfurnished rent prices is decreasing, too — it’s only marginally more expensive to opt for the average furnished one-bedroom than an unfurnished unit.

As the year continues, we can only ardently hope to see further decreases. Keep your fingers crossed, and look for housing in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, the borough with the cheapest rent among those included in the assessment.

To compile its monthly Montreal rent report, liv.rent looks at rent asking prices in listings on its own site, as well as PadMapper, Centris and DuProprio, excluding units with rent over $5,000/month.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.