Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator Edmonton
A $280,000 two-bedroom at $1,600 a month, 20% down at 4.50%: −$531 a month.
Condo loads a $400 monthly fee. House drops the fee and adds a 5% capital reserve.
Price and rent
Add every unit's rent for a plex.
CMHC October 2025, Edmonton CMA.
Financing
20% is the minimum on a rental you won't live in.
Preloaded at 4.5%: advertised 5-year fixed rates plus a typical rental premium.
Alberta land title and mortgage registration fees plus about $3,250 in legal, title and inspection.
Operating costs
Edmonton's combined residential rate is about 1.04% — higher than Calgary's 0.66%. The cheaper rent does not make the tax line smaller.
Edmonton condo contributions average about $0.50 per sq ft a month.
0 if you self-manage. 8% is a typical fee.
Roof, windows, furnace. A condo's reserve fund covers the building.
Utilities you pay, accounting, licensing.
Monthly cash flow
−$531
Cash-on-cash
−10.6%
Cap rate
3.04%
Debt coverage
0.57
Break-even rent
$2,182 a month
Your rent is $582 short.
Down payment to break even
55% down
About $151,894 of equity before the rent covers every cost.
At renewal
One point higher (5.50%): −$658 a month. Two points higher (6.50%): −$791 a month.
What cash flow leaves out
Year one pays down $4,992 of principal. Cash flow plus that paydown is −$1,377, or −2.30% on the cash you put in, before appreciation and income tax.
Estimate for planning, not financial advice. Cash flow is before income tax. Rent rules: No provincial rent cap.
Edmonton has the lowest entry prices of the ten cities here and no land transfer tax, so it gets closest to break-even on a small down payment. Its 1.04% tax rate is higher than Calgary's, and rents have less room between asking and in-place, which limits how much a turnover lifts cash flow.
Asking and CMHC rents are close in Edmonton, so the rent choice moves cash flow less than in Toronto or Hamilton.
Cash flow on a typical Edmonton rental condo
Gross rent of $19,200, less $730 of vacancy and $9,962 of operating costs, leaves $8,509 of net operating income, a 3.04% cap rate. The mortgage takes $14,877. What is left is −$6,369 a year: a −10.6% cash-on-cash return on $59,855 invested, with debt coverage of 0.57.
Break-even rent
$2,182
Monthly rent for zero cash flow
Down to break even
55%
Equity needed at today’s rate
As a house or plex
−$211
No condo fee, 5% capital reserve, same price and rent
Year one also pays down $4,992 of principal. Counting that, the total year-one return is −$1,377 before appreciation and tax.
Which Edmonton rent to put in
Most calculators take one rent figure and never say whose it is. There are 3 benchmarks for a Edmontontwo-bedroom, and they are not interchangeable. Asking rent is what a new tenant pays for a vacant unit. CMHC’s averages include tenants who moved in years ago at lower rents. Buying a condo to lease out, you will usually get close to asking rent; buying a building with tenants in place, you get the rent roll.
| Rent benchmark | Monthly rent | Cash flow / month | Cash-on-cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asking rentAverage two-bedroom asking rent, mid-2026: what a new tenant pays. | $1,600 | −$531 | −10.6% |
| CMHC condo rentCMHC October 2025 average for two-bedroom condos rented out by owners. | $1,655 | −$481 | −9.63% |
| CMHC purpose-built rentCMHC October 2025 purpose-built two-bedroom average, mostly sitting tenants. | $1,603 | −$528 | −10.6% |
Edmontoncash flow at today’s rates and at renewal
The preload is 4.50%: advertised 5-year fixed rates of about 4.09% to 4.39% in mid-September 2026 plus a typical rental premium. A longer amortization lowers the payment but not the interest rate; a renewal one or two points higher is the risk a five-year term leaves you with.
| Financing | Payment | Cash flow / month |
|---|---|---|
| 4.50%, 25-year amortization (preloaded) | $1,240 | −$531 |
| 4.50%, 30-year amortization | $1,129 | −$420 |
| Renewal at 5.50% | $1,367 | −$658 |
| Renewal at 6.50% | $1,500 | −$791 |
| Down payment | Cash down | Cash flow / month | Cash-on-cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% down | $56,000 | −$531 | −10.6% |
| 35% down | $98,000 | −$298 | −3.51% |
| 50% down | $140,000 | −$66 | −0.55% |
Uninsured rental mortgages qualify at the greater of 5.25% or the contract rate plus 2 points. Cash-on-cash includes closing costs in the cash invested.
Cash to close on a Edmonton rental
- Down payment (20%)
- $56,000
- Alberta land title and mortgage registration fees
- $605
- Legal, title insurance, inspection
- $3,250
- Total
- $59,855
First-time buyer rebates do not apply to a property you won’t live in. If the deal runs negative, add a reserve for the shortfall: at −$531 a month, a year of carrying costs is $6,369.
Vacancy and rent rules in Edmonton
Edmonton's purpose-built vacancy rose to 3.8% in 2025. Completions stayed well above history while youth unemployment slowed demand. West Jasper Place, Mill Woods, and Castle Downs took the largest increases, especially in newer two-bedrooms. Northeast, Fort Saskatchewan, and Strathcona County stayed tighter. Rented condos were 1.7% vacant.
No provincial rent cap
Alberta does not set an annual percentage cap on private residential rents. Proper notice still applies. Edmonton's sitting two-bedroom rent rose 3.5% in 2025; turnover rent only ticked to $1,600. The gap between asking and in-place is thinner here than in Toronto.
- The $1,603 rent is CMHC's October 2025 purpose-built two-bedroom average for the Edmonton CMA, up 3.5%. Condo two-bedrooms averaged $1,655.
- Newer two-bedrooms (completed mid-2022 to mid-2025) leased slower because they priced above the stock average.
- Turnover rose to 28.8%. Downtown, West Jasper Place, Southwest, and East Central saw most of that movement.
Edmonton rental cash flow FAQs
Does a rental property cash flow in Edmonton?
Not on a typical leveraged purchase. A $280,000 two-bedroom condo rented at the $1,600 average asking rent, with 20% down at 4.50% over 25 years, comes to −$531 a month after vacancy, tax, insurance, maintenance and a $400 condo fee. Change the price, rent and fee to the listing you are looking at.
What rent do I need to break even on a Edmonton rental?
About $2,182 a month on the preloaded $280,000 condo at 20% down. That is $582 above the average asking rent.
How much down payment makes a Edmonton rental cash flow positive?
About 55% down, or roughly $154,000, before the average asking rent covers the mortgage and every operating cost at 4.50%.
How much cash do I need to buy a rental property in Edmonton?
On a $280,000 purchase: $56,000 for the minimum 20% down, about $605 in Alberta land title and mortgage registration fees, and roughly $3,250 for legal, title insurance and inspection, or about $59,855 in total before any reserve for negative cash flow.
Is there rent control in Edmonton?
Alberta does not set an annual percentage cap on private residential rents. Proper notice still applies. Edmonton's sitting two-bedroom rent rose 3.5% in 2025; turnover rent only ticked to $1,600. The gap between asking and in-place is thinner here than in Toronto.
What vacancy rate should I use for a Edmonton rental?
Edmonton's purpose-built vacancy rose to 3.8% in 2025. Completions stayed well above history while youth unemployment slowed demand. West Jasper Place, Mill Woods, and Castle Downs took the largest increases, especially in newer two-bedrooms. Northeast, Fort Saskatchewan, and Strathcona County stayed tighter. Rented condos were 1.7% vacant.
Nearby cities
Cash flow calculators for other cities
Every city side by side is on the Canada rental property cash flow calculator.
How the method works
The Canada rental property cash flow calculator explains the formula, the 1% and 50% rules, down payment rules for rentals and how rental income is taxed, and ranks all ten cities on the same deal.
Sources
- CMHC 2025 Rental Market Report (Edmonton CMA vacancy 3.8%, 2-bed rent $1,603)
- Bank of Canada: policy rate held at 2.25% (September 2, 2026)
- Ratehub: advertised 5-year fixed rates
- nesto: Canadian mortgage rates
- bestrates.ca: investment property rates run 0.20% to 0.60% above owner-occupied
- CMHC: Income Property mortgage loan insurance
- OSFI: Clarifying guidance on rental income and mortgage classification (2025)
- Rentals.ca National Rent Report (asking rents)
- CRA: Rental Income guide (T4036)
- Urbanation and CIBC: GTA Condo Investment Report (July 2024)
- CBC News: More than half of GTA condo investors losing money (2023)
Rates checked September 13, 2026. CMHC rents and vacancy are from the October 2025 Rental Market Survey; asking rents are mid-2026 averages compiled from Rentals.ca and CMHC. Condo fees are city averages per square foot on an 800sq ft two-bedroom. This calculator is an estimate for planning, not financial or tax advice. Replace every preload with the listing, the lease and the lender’s quote.