Montreal Rents Have Dropped — But Don't Get Your Hopes Up

The city-wide average is just above $1,500.

A row of homes in Montreal during winter.

A row of homes in Montreal during winter.

Staff Writer

If you're that person who spent nearly $900 at a bakery using Uber Eats, the average Montreal apartment rent being just over $1,500 probably doesn't faze you. But if you're someone who has a more normal relationship with money, Montreal's rent averages may be relatively upsetting.

But only relatively, because Toronto's average rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom has been just over $2,000 since September 2022. In Vancouver, the same apartment might sell for an average above $2,200, so Montrealers can rest assured that our housing crisis, though it is awful, is way better than everyone else's.

However, the $31 decrease from November's average rent (for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment) isn't necessarily a sign of things improving: it's part of what liv.rent describes as a normal slowing down of the housing market during the winter months.

The cheapest type of apartment in Montreal, according to liv.rent, is an unfurnished one-bedroom in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. These units average a monthly rent of $1,231, which is definitely a discount from the same units in the most expensive neighbourhood: downtown, an unfurnished one-bedroom averages $1,750.

Prices are highest in Montreal's downtown neighbourhood, where a furnished two-bedroom costs $2,711 on average and an unfurnished two-bedroom costs $2,506. The Plateau is the only neighbourhood giving downtown a run for its money: in only one category, furnished one-bedrooms, the Plateau's average rent ($2,016) is higher than downtown's ($1,898).

With inflation and cost of living increases on the map as well, the housing game is a tough one to play, perhaps for tenants most of all.

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

  • Willa Holt
  • Creator

    Willa Holt (they/she) was a Creator for MTL Blog. They have edited for Ricochet Media and The McGill Daily, with leadership experience at the Canadian University Press. They have an undergraduate degree in anthropology with a minor in French translation, and they are the proud owner of a trilingual cat named Ivy.

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