Vancouver rentals are still the most expensive in Canada

Jul 22 2016, 12:59 am

Surprise, surprise…Vancouver has the most expensive rentals in Canada, according to apartment hunting website PadMapper.

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According to PadMapper’s July report on Canadian rentals, the median rent for a one-bedroom place in Vancouver is now $1,740, up 2.4% from May.

Meanwhile, the median rent for a two-bedroom place is down 1.1%, now standing at $2,750.

By comparison, the median rent for a two-bedroom home in Toronto, which PadMapper found to have the second most expensive rentals in Canada, is $1,720.

That does not even cover the cost of an one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver.

Supply vs demand

Of course, there’s the age-old rule of supply and demand, and with rental availability rates of only 0.6%, among the lowest in Canada, it’s no surprise rents are skyrocketing.

So why is Vancouver’s long-term rental stock so low? The City of Vancouver believes it may be at least in part down to the prevalence of short-term rentals like Airbnb.

Under current legislation short-term rentals – which are defined as anything less than 30 days per tenancy – are only allowed in licensed hotels and bed and breakfasts in Vancouver.

But according to the City, there are more than 5,000 short-term rentals listed across 12 different websites in Vancouver, most of which are whole houses and apartments.

While it has hired a third-party consulting firm to investigate, the City also wants to know what you think about short-term rentals and how they should be regulated.

To take the City’s survey, head to vancouver.ca/short-term-rentals.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll one day be able to find an apartment that doesn’t break the bank. Maybe.

Top 5 most expensive rental markets in Canada

  1. Vancouver: one-bedroom $1,740, two-bedroom $2,750
  2. Toronto: one-bedroom $1,350, two-bedroom $$1,720
  3. Calgary: one-bedroom $1,110, two-bedroom $1,340
  4. Victoria: one-bedroom $1,075, two-bedroom $1,370
  5. Ottawa: one-bedroom $1,040, two-bedroom $1,280
DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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