Do Calgary Rentals Cash-Flow in 2026?

Does each home type cash-flow?

We ran our rental calculator on the median assessed value of each home type in the City of Calgary's 2026 roll, with 20% down, the Bank of Canada's average rate on new uninsured 5-year fixed mortgages (4.58%, 2026-08), 25 years, CMHC's 5% Calgary vacancy rate, 2026 property tax, and example insurance, repairs and reserves.

Example rents: houses (detached and semi), Statistics Canada's average asking rent for a 3+ bedroom house, Calgary CMA, Q2 2026 (new leases; adapted from Statistics Canada, not an endorsement). Townhouses: CMHC's 3+ bedroom row rent; apartments: CMHC's 2-bedroom rented-condo rent, Calgary CMA, October 2025 (adapted from CMHC, not an endorsement). CMHC stopped surveying rented houses after 2016. Source: Statistics Canada, Table 46-10-0092-01, Quarterly Rent Statistics (experimental): average asking rent, Calgary CMA, houses, Q2 2026. Adapted from Statistics Canada; not an endorsement, effective April 1, 2026. Checked November 1, 2026. Source: CMHC, Rental Market Report data tables, Calgary CMA, October 2025 survey, effective December 11, 2025. Checked November 1, 2026.

Which sectors come closest to breaking even?

Using each sector's typical community median for a detached house:

What moves break-even rent?

A legal suite is the biggest single lever: two rents on one property tax bill and one roof. After that comes the down payment, because the mortgage is the biggest cost. See the house hack calculator.

What does CMHC's rent data say?

CMHC's October 2025 survey put Calgary's average purpose-built rent at $1,761 (up from $1,732 a year earlier) and the vacancy rate at 5% (4.8% in 2024). Rented condominium apartments averaged $1,867, with vacancy of 2.2%. By size: bachelor $1,441, 1-bedroom $1,582, 2-bedroom $1,914, 3-bedroom+ $2,171. Used under CMHC's data licence. Source: CMHC, Rental Market Report data tables, Calgary CMA, October 2025 survey, effective December 11, 2025. Checked November 1, 2026.

Why does the cap rate need to beat the mortgage rate?

When a property's cap rate (net operating income ÷ price) is below the mortgage rate, every dollar borrowed costs more than it earns, so more leverage means less cash flow. A median house rented as one unit sits well below 4.58% in our model; with a suite it's close to the rate, which is why suites decide most Calgary deals. That principal is still yours: about $1,056 a month on the median house in year one.

Which communities come closest to breaking even?

Using each community's estimated house rent (Statistics Canada's Calgary house rent scaled by its CMHC survey zone) against the break-even rent of its median completed detached house, here are the ten large communities with the smallest gap, 20% down at 4.58%:

Even the closest communities need several hundred dollars a month more than the estimated rent as single rentals at 20% down. They share two traits: lower median prices and, in several, a survey zone where purpose-built rents run above the city average. That is a starting list for a search, not a verdict: a specific house with a legal suite, a lower price or a larger down payment can cross the line in a community further down.

How much does a legal suite change the answer, sector by sector?

A suite improves every sector by roughly the same amount, because the extra rent is similar everywhere; it closes the gap only where prices are lowest. The suited figures assume the upper floor rents as a 2-bedroom house (StatCan) and the suite at CMHC's 1-bedroom average, with $120 a month of costs the suite adds; a suited house usually costs more to buy than one without, so the real gap is often wider.

What does it take when you stack the levers?

No single lever turns the median house positive, but they add up. Suited and bought with 35% down, the median detached house comes to about -$271 a month; suited, 35% down and bought 10% below the median, about $29. That is the realistic shape of a Calgary rental that pays for itself in 2026: a legal suite, a below-median price, and more equity than the 20% minimum. Each of those has a cost (a suited house costs more, a bigger down payment earns a lower cash-on-cash return), which is why the hold model's IRR, not the monthly cash flow alone, is the better test of whether the deal is worth doing.

How does it work on a real example?

What do the terms in this guide mean?