Unlikely BC city becoming rental hotspot with jump in average rates
An unlikely BC city is quickly seeing a massive jump in average rent rates, and one rental platform suggests that it could be the new Metro Vancouver rental hotspot.
Liv.rent recently released its March rent report for Vancouver, where it saw that not Burnaby, not Surrey, but Coquitlam has become a rental hotspot.
Average rates for furnished one-bedroom units in that city have increased by 19.80% since March 2023 ($1,929 vs. $2,304).
Only Burnaby was close, with a 5.8% increase in the average rent for a furnished one-bedroom unit in March ($2,370 last year compared to $2,508 this year).
And it’s not just average rent that has liv.rent talking about Coquitlam.
The rental platform says, “Coquitlam has also seen the largest year-over-year increase in search volume for searches related to renting in the city (+26%).”
In some good news for Metro Vancouver, many new renters are spending less of their income on rent than this time last year.
“Compared to March 2023, Metro Vancouver renters are spending an average of 34.38% of their monthly income on rent vs. 38.04% last year,” liv.rent states.
The rental platform went on to say that average rent prices in Metro Vancouver “are showing clear signs of slowing” compared to last year.
“This March, Metro Vancouver’s average rent prices have decreased following two consecutive month-to-month increases. With this recent change, the region’s rental rates have hit their lowest point since the start of the year.”
Liv.rent also broke down some of the jumps and also decreases the platform is seeing in other cities.
“Looking at one-bedroom unfurnished units, Langley (+2.50%) and Coquitlam (+2.37%) saw the largest month-to-month increases, while West Vancouver (-4.89%), North Vancouver (-4.48%), Surrey (-4.45%), and Vancouver (-4.20%) all recorded noteworthy month-to-month decreases.”
Are you surprised to see Coquitlam, BC, becoming a rental hotspot?
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