Calgary Rent Report, May 2026

Calgary is now a renter's market for the first time since the pandemic. A wave of new rental supply pushed vacancy to a multi-year high. Rents have stopped climbing, asking prices on new listings are falling, and landlords are competing for tenants again.

The CMHC Rental Market Survey (October 2025 data, published December 2025) put Calgary's apartment vacancy rate at 5.0%, up from 4.8% a year earlier and more than triple the 1.4% low of 2023. Meanwhile, the Rentals.ca and Urbanation National Rent Report (May 2026 release) shows Calgary's average asking rent across all property types at $1,883 per month, with apartment asking rents down about 5% year over year this spring, part of a national slide that has now run for 20 straight months.

Average monthly rent in Calgary, by unit size, purpose-built rental apartments, Calgary CMA. Source: CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2025 (published December 2025).

• Studio: $1,441 / month
• 1 Bedroom: $1,582 / month
• 2 Bedroom: $1,914 / month
• 3 Bedroom or more: $2,171 / month
• All apartments: $1,761 / month

For context, the national average asking rent in May 2026 was $2,029 per month, with national asking rents down 4.7% year over year, the 20th consecutive monthly decline.

Calgary's downtown-adjacent and inner-city neighbourhoods continue to command the highest rents, while the city's northeast quadrant remains its most affordable.

Higher-rent areas

• Beltline / Downtown: Calgary's highest-rent core, driven by walkability and density
• Mission: Riverside, restaurant-district premium
• Kensington / Hillhurst: Popular with young professionals, close to downtown
• Bridgeland: Newer mid-rise stock commands a premium

Best-value areas

• Northeast quadrant (Falconridge, Martindale, Taradale): Unfurnished 1BR averaged $1,320/month in April 2026, down about 11% year-over-year, per DoorInsight.com's April 2026 Calgary rent data
• Northwest quadrant: Unfurnished 1BR averaged $1,439/month in April 2026, down about 10% year-over-year, per the same DoorInsight dataset
• Forest Lawn / Dover / Whitehorn: Consistently among the city's lowest per-bedroom rents

CMHC's October 2025 survey counted 62,657 purpose-built apartment units in Calgary, about 11% more than a year earlier, as a run of new buildings opened. That extra supply pushed the apartment vacancy rate to 5.0%, more than triple the 1.4% low of 2023.

With more empty units to fill, rent growth stalled. The rent that existing tenants actually pay held essentially flat over the year, CMHC found the year-over-year change was not statistically different from zero. On new listings the shift is sharper: Calgary apartment asking rents were down about 5% year over year this spring.

To fill vacancies, especially in newer buildings, landlords are leaning on incentives like a free month or waived parking rather than cutting the headline rent. For the first time in years, the leverage sits with tenants.

With vacancy at a multi-year high and a 20-month national streak of asking-rent declines still running, Calgary's rental market is expected to stay tenant-favourable through the rest of 2026.

What this means for renters

• Real negotiating leverage on price, incentives, and lease terms
• More vacancy means more choice, compare several buildings before you commit
• Ask new-build landlords directly about move-in incentives; they are being offered more freely than in recent years

What this means for landlords

• Pricing to the current market beats holding out for last year's rents
• Retention economics now favour a fair renewal over a costly re-lease, turnover ran at 24.9% last year
• Expect continued vacancy pressure as 2025's supply pipeline keeps completing through 2026

SQRFT's June 2026 Calgary report is also available, covering the following month's data in full.