Living in Lethbridge remains affordable compared to other parts of the province and the country but rent and house prices are on the rise.
Paul Danison is the Content Director at Rentals.ca and says, “compared to the other cities we looked at in Alberta, year over year the rents have increased more in Lethbridge than other such as Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and Fort McMurray.” He adds that while rents are going up, they are still quite reasonable. “The average price in February for a one-bedroom was $1000 and $1155 for a two-bedroom.”
When it comes to purchasing a home in Lethbridge, Danison says consumers are also noticing higher prices. “The numbers of homes sold last year set a record and have gone up to $335 to $340 thousand which obviously sounds reasonable if you are in Ontario, but for people of Lethbridge that’s pretty high.” He adds that as the city continues to grow, housing will get more expensive. “I think things in Lethbridge are looking up economically in terms of the job market, in terms of people moving there, but I think rents will continue to rise.”
The average rent for all Canadian properties listed on Rentals.ca in February was $1,820 per month, an increase of 6.2 per cent annually. Rents could continue to push higher soon because of increasing demand reinforced by supply chain disruptions, record inflation, increasing interest rates and much higher gas prices.
Average monthly rents in Alberta decreased year over year in February to $1,224 from $1,240 in February 2021, from $1,242 in February 2020 and from $1,291 in February 2019.
