Rent is growing at an astronomical rate in urban centres like Toronto or Vancouver, where the average price of a one-bedroom apartment just hit $2,540 and $2,475, respectively.

The December National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting shows that rents increased dramatically — by as much as 25 per cent in some markets — between November of 2018 and November of 2019.

Rent increases were observed in 18 out of 23 municipalities surveyed by analysts for the monthly report, with Hamilton, Scarborough, Quebec City and Winnipeg leading the pack in terms of percentage points.

Notably, however, six Canadian cities actually saw rents go down — and some of them by a significant amount.

If you're looking to save money on housing costs but don't want to resign yourself to the 'burbs, might I suggest moving to Calgary, Edmonton or Regina?

Based on last year's figures, rents are expected to increase by 3 per cent on average across Canada in 2020. Image via rentals.ca and Bullpen.

Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alberta, both saw declines in their (already quite reasonable) average rent prices by roughly 7 per cent over the past year, while Saskatoon and Regina saw rates go down by 6 per cent each. 

Rents went down by 4 per cent in Calgary to hit an average of just $1,330, while Red Deer, Alberta saw a decrease of 1 per cent and now sits at an average rental price of $1,068.

On top of that, market experts expect rents to continue falling in both Edmonton and Calgary.

While the average rent is forecast to increase by 7 per cent in Toronto and 4 per cent in Montreal by the end of 2020, rents in both major Albertan cities should see a modest decline of 1 per cent to reach average prices of just $1,165 in Edmonton and $1,370 in Calgary.

To put that into perspective, you could literally rent two apartments in Edmonton for the price of just one in Toronto, where the average rent is forecast to hit $2,770 by December of 2020.