While rough Canadian weather contributed to weaker house prices and sales last month, rents were anything but frozen as would-be homebuyers who were priced out of the market sparked more competition for apartments.

The national median monthly rent soared to $1,747 in February, up close to 6 percent from January, and further gains are expected, according to the latest monthly report from rentals.ca.

Ben Myers, author of the report and founder of Bullpen Consulting, which advises developers, notes that job growth and immigration levels are feeding demand for rentals. So is the mortgage stress test that was introduced about a year ago.

“[T]here will continue to be upward pressure on rental household formation and further increases in rental rates in Canada if credit availability remains tight but other economic data remains generally positive,” writes Myers in the report.

Prospective homebuyers who can’t pass the stress test — which came into effect last January and requires borrowers to prove they can afford a mortgage rate that is 200 basis points higher than what their bank is offering — continue to rent, leading to an even tighter market.

In the City of Toronto last month, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $2,149, representing a 0.6 percent month-over-month increase. For a two-bedroom apartment, the monthly cost was $2,620, up 1.7 percent over the same period. The report separately tracks rents in the pre-amalgamation suburbs of Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough.

For Vancouver, the median one-bedroom rent surged 3.8 percent to $1,835, while the two-bedroom median was $2,619, rising 3.1 percent.

“The new mortgage stress test implemented in 2018 in Canada has resulted in much slower mortgage growth and slow or declining house prices in several Canadian markets. However, affordability has not significantly improved for ownership housing, and rental affordability has gotten worse,” Myers continues.

Canadian Rent Prices Keep Climbing as The Mortgage Stress Test Dashes Homeownership Dreams by Josh Sherman | Livabl