Metro Vancouver city just experienced the biggest annual rent drop in Canada

Oct 14 2026, 8:06 pm

Residents across B.C. are continuing to feel the financial pressure, but those looking to rent in several spots in Metro Vancouver may be seeing some relief in their costs compared to last year.

Zumper, a digital marketplace for renters and property managers, has released its latest rent report, which tracks asking rent prices on sites with apartment listings.

Vancouver remains home to the priciest one-bedroom and two-bedroom rentals in the country, with a median price of $2,390 and $3,300 per month, respectively, in September. This represents no change compared to the previous month.

However, compared to this time in 2025, the median price for the two Vancouver housing types is down 5.2 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.

And Vancouver isn’t the B.C. city with the biggest annual drop in asking rent prices across the country.

Greater Vancouver

Dgu/Shutterstock

Burnaby, which is the fifth most expensive city to rent in Canada, saw its September median price for one-bedrooms dip 12.1 per cent compared to 2025, down to $2,030.

The city also saw its month-over-month asking price drop 7.4 per cent as it fell from its previous ranking of second most expensive rental market.

Two-bedroom units in Burnaby also saw a decrease in asking price, down 2.6 per cent month-over-month and 8.6 per cent year-over-year.

According to Zumper, B.C.’s supply overhang is concentrated in the Metro Vancouver region.

Rent

Zumper

“Vancouver’s annual decline widened to -5.2 per cent and Burnaby’s dropped to -12.1 per cent, the worst in the country, both consistent with CMHC’s finding that Metro Vancouver’s vacancy rate has climbed to its highest level since 1988 amid record completions and softer immigration-driven demand,” said Zumper in its report.

“For renters, this continues to be good news. Both one- and two-bedrooms are still cheaper than a year ago in most tracked markets, vacancies sit at multi-year highs, and incentives are still common. As we head into the cooler months, demand usually fades, so the handful of markets driving September’s one-bedroom gain may falter against that weaker structural backdrop.”

vancouver housing market

Volodymyr Kyrylyuk/Shutterstock

A number of other B.C. cities saw month-to-month increases in rent for one-bedrooms.

Victoria jumped up 3 per cent month-to-month to $2,050, and Kelowna saw an asking price increase of 4.5 per cent, up to $1,840.

Abbotsford also landed in the top 20 most expensive markets for renters in Canada, though there were no month-to-month changes for its current one-bedroom asking price of $1,650.

The full Zumper report can be found online.

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