Hamilton has seen a whopping 24.4 per cent jump in the asking price of vacant apartments over the past year, the highest increase for a city in Canada, according to a new survey.

However, the national rent report by Rentals.ca, an online apartment listing service, found that Hamilton's average monthly rent of $1,533 for a one-bedroom is relatively affordable compared to other cities.

Hamilton was the 16th-most expensive city to rent in, with Toronto topping the list with $2,320 for a one-bedroom.

A spokesperson for CMHC noted that the Rentals.ca survey focuses on asking prices of vacant units on the company's site, which only captures a portion of the marketplace. Most renters stay in their units one year to the next and experience rent-controlled increases of around two per cent.

It's also difficult - with vacant rental units - to find similar ones to compare one year to the next. It can lead to "volatile results because you are unlikely to survey the same units in both years," said Anthony Passarelli, a CMHC senior analyst.

Yet, the CMHC, he says, has found in past broad-based surveys that "annual rent increases in Hamilton have been among the strongest in the country." Considering rent controlled units and ones not under control, annual increases are about 5 per cent, he said.

A CHMC 2019 report on the subject is scheduled for January.

The results from the Rental.ca survey are also interesting because they suggest the rental market is following a similar trajectory as the real estate market that has been marked by big price increases in the past several years - but houses still remain affordable when compared to the Greater Toronto Area.

"People are moving out of Toronto and they are looking at affordable places to move to. Maybe they don't want to live in a suburb. They want to live in a city. Hamilton is a city. There is a historic downtown with some great bones. And the rent is significantly cheaper," said Ben Myers, of Bullpen Consulting, which crunched the numbers from the Rentals.ca database.

And that big difference in rental prices between the two cities will continue to encourage a migration to Hamilton from Toronto. That will increase demand and drive up prices further.

The appeal of Hamilton is something that is noted on the Rentals.ca website that says "Hamilton's housing market has been on fire ...(but) there are always deals to be found here."

It notes that "for years, Hamilton had a bad reputation, basically being seen as 'Canada's Detroit' or 'the armpit of Canada' ... But in the last couple of years, Hamilton has gone from Ontario's ugly duckling to the golden goose, becoming the top city for cool, young, creative types looking to buy a home and unable to afford one in Toronto."

The website goes on to say there are still concerns in the city and - somewhat inexplicably - warned prospective renters: "Ladies, there have been some issues with guys masturbating at women, even in the middle of the day."

However, since an earlier version of this story was posted online, the reference to masturbating on the website was removed.

mmcneil@thespec.com

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