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In Calgary, the average rental price for either a house or an apartment is down 10 per cent over the course of 2015, while the number of available listings has spiked. The number of houses for rent in Calgary is up to 3,450 available units, a 64 per cent jump, while the number of apartments for rent is up 43 per cent, according to RentFaster.

The situation is similar in Edmonton, where the average rental price for a house has dropped eight per cent, though the number of listings is up 73 per cent. In the apartment market, the average price has fallen two per cent while the number of listings is up 26 per cent.

“I think the market has shifted from being in favour of the landlord to more of a balanced market, where the landlord and tenant are more on even footing,” said Hawkins.

Hawkins said that landlords are increasingly advertising incentives to tenants — such as a month of free rent on a 12-month lease — and that tenants are no longer in a rush to sign leases. “In general terms, we’ve regressed to 2012, 2013 prices,” Hawkins said.

The market for fully-furnished condos, popular with oil and gas consultants who move to Calgary on short-term assignments, has been particularly hard hit as the oil price rout has continued.

The West Texas Intermediate oil price continued to fall Tuesday, dipping briefly below US$37.

Mainstreet Equities Corp., one of the largest residential landlords in Alberta, with apartment properties in British Columbia and Saskatchewan as well, said vacancy rates in the province are now comparable with other markets across the country.