Based on the report, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Canada was $1,923 in October, down 0.8 per cent from a year ago. The average asking price for a two-bedroom unit was $2,308, down 0.2 per cent.
Oh, be still my beating heart. 0.2%. Remind me how much it has increased since 2019?
You're right, but changes are more pronounced in individual areas:
B.C. and Ontario recorded the most significant annual rent decreases among the provinces, with the former seeing average asking rents for apartments down 3.4 per cent to $2,549 and the latter recording a 5.7 per cent drop to $2,350.
Rents rose 17.1 per cent in Saskatchewan, which remained the fastest-growing province in the country in terms of asking price, after seeing 23.5 per cent annual growth in September.
By city, Toronto recorded the largest annual decline in asking rents for apartments in October, at 9.2 per cent, to reach an average of $2,642. Vancouver saw an 8.4 per cent year-over-year rent decline to an average of $2,945, while Calgary apartment rents fell 4.7 per cent to $1,995.
In Montreal, average rents were down 2.9 per cent at $1,987. Ottawa apartment rents held steady with a 0.4 per cent annual increase to reach $2,207.
However, Edmonton led rent growth in Canada’s largest markets as apartment rents rose 8.4 per cent annually to an average of $1,584.
You're right that we're still fucked relative to 2019, but at least some areas are seeing a bit of relief.
Oh, that's easy. The BoC overnight rate is only one of the factors that go into the Prime Rate, which is determined by the banks themselves. The Prime Rate is also down by about half a percent.
Credit card rates on the other hand, are set by the banks based on how much they want to rip you off. The only government involvement there is that the card has to stay under the criminal interest rate, or 48% APR.
The current Government has proposed to reduce that rate to 35% APR, but we'll see.
In short, your MP won't be able to help with your credit card, because cards are issued by the banks, not the Government. Personally, I'd love to see Canada Post get into personal banking, but it's a bit of a pipe dream.
Genuine curiosity, why would Canada Post get into banking? Do they have some administrative advantages that would help, or is there no better department?