On the hunt for a rental home in Calgary over the last six weeks, Marissa Giesinger and her boyfriend trawled through listings morning, noon and night, only to find most come along with dozens of applications and a steep price tag. As an added difficulty, many landlords are unwelcoming to the couple害羞草研究所檚 brood 害羞草研究所� dogs Kado and Rosco and a cat named Jester.

害羞草研究所淲e made the tough decision recently to house our dogs with someone else until we can find a place that害羞草研究所檚 affordable and we can take both of them,害羞草研究所� said Giesinger, a 23-year-old Mount Royal University student.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 definitely been stressful.害羞草研究所�

The competitive rental market Giesinger has encountered in Calgary is being seen across the country as multiple factors combine: high interest rates deter buyers and add to rental demand, still-high inflation is squeezing renter budgets, there害羞草研究所檚 an undersupply of purpose-built rental units and population growth is fuelling demand.

These conditions have left prospective renters feeling even more frustrated than usual by sky-high rents, the frenzy of interest that surrounds any affordable listing and the litany of demands landlords can make when so many people are interested in their home.

Giacomo Ladas, communications director for Rentals.ca, calls it 害羞草研究所渁lmost a perfect storm害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� and it isn害羞草研究所檛 likely to ease up any time soon.

害羞草研究所淲hat this does is create such a burden on this rental housing market that even though we害羞草研究所檙e out of the (busy) summer rental season, there害羞草研究所檚 so much demand that (these conditions are) going to continue like this until the fall and into the winter,害羞草研究所� he said.

Data crunched by his organization and research firm Urbanation.ca shows average asking rents for newly-listed units in Canada increased 1.8 per cent between July and August and 9.6 per cent from a year earlier to reach a record high of $2,117 last month.

Between May and August, asking rents in Canada increased by 5.1 per cent or an average of $103 per month.

When Giesinger rented a two-bedroom basement unit with a roommate a few years ago, the duo paid $1,000 per month, but now she routinely spots 害羞草研究所渟uper tiny,害羞草研究所� one-bedroom places for $1,350 a month.

害羞草研究所淚f you want a basement suite or an apartment, you害羞草研究所檙e looking at minimum $1,200 and that doesn害羞草研究所檛 include any utilities or anything like that unless it害羞草研究所檚 a super rare listing,害羞草研究所� Giesinger said.

Rentals.ca data show newly listed one-bedroom properties in Calgary priced at an average $1,728 per month in August, up 21.6 per cent from a year earlier. Two-bedroom homes have climbed 17.4 per cent to $2,150 over the same period.

The picture in Vancouver and Toronto is far bleaker. Rentals.ca found the cities had the highest rents in the country.

Newly-listed one-bedroom properties in Vancouver averaged $2,988 in August, up 13.1 per cent from a year earlier, while two-bedroom units hit $3,879, an almost 10 per cent increase year-over-year.

Newly-listed Toronto one-bedroom homes averaged $2,620 in August, up almost 11 per cent from the year before, while two-bedroom properties had a 7.1 per cent rise over the same time frame to $3,413.

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It害羞草研究所檚 numbers like these that have convinced Kanishka Punjabi to abandon her hopes of moving in the near term.

害羞草研究所淭wo days ago, I gave up on my search because the rental market is that bad,害羞草研究所� she said.

The public relations worker has been living in Mississauga, Ont., but felt it was time to find a home in downtown or midtown Toronto, closer to where she works.

However, few of the two-bedroom homes she spotted in her two-month search were within her $2,800 budget.

For example, one apartment she liked at the intersection of Yonge and Eglinton streets had 25 offers in just over a week.

害羞草研究所淪ome people actually just sent in their offer without looking at the apartment too because there are so many people who are in desperate need of rental units,害羞草研究所� said Punjabi. 害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 just not enough.害羞草研究所�

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has projected that the country needs to build 3.5 million additional homes beyond what害羞草研究所檚 planned before the market reaches some semblance of affordability.

It also calculated that the annual pace of housing starts 害羞草研究所� when construction begins on a home 害羞草研究所� edged down one per cent in August to 252,787 units compared with 255,232 in July.

Despite the nudge down, Rishi Sondhi, an economist with TD Bank Group, said it has been a strong year for starts because the industry is responding to elevated prices by building at a robust pace.

But between population growth and rising interest rates, he said, 害羞草研究所渟upply is struggling to keep up with demand害羞草研究所� and that害羞草研究所檚 bound to weigh on renters for quite some time.

害羞草研究所淚n the short term, it would be unrealistic to expect too much of a reprieve simply because population growth is likely to remain strong through the duration of this year 害羞草研究所� and that害羞草研究所檚 really one of the big fundamental drivers,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淚n addition, it害羞草研究所檚 unlikely to expect affordability in the ownership market to improve too much either because we think the Bank of Canada (key rate) is going to be on hold for the remainder of the year, but there is some risk that they take rates even higher, especially if inflation doesn害羞草研究所檛 co-operate.害羞草研究所�

For renters like Giesinger that message puts even more pressure on her to settle on a place soon.

害羞草研究所淣ow I害羞草研究所檓 scrambling to find the money for a deposit and we害羞草研究所檙e still never really sure like what kind of place we害羞草研究所檙e going to get,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淎nd when you害羞草研究所檙e battling dozens of other people for a rental it can be super stressful.害羞草研究所�