The Greater Vancouver city where rent is falling the fastest
There is some potentially good news for people looking for a new place to rent in Greater Vancouver.
Zumper, a digital marketplace for renters and property managers, published its August rent report today, in which it looked at median rents across the country.
After rents started to climb back up in B.C. in the early summer months, they flattened in August with “the last of the summer leasing momentum” fading away, according to Zumper.
“After June’s brief seasonal rise and July’s stall, August confirms that the market has plateaued at the tail end of its typical peak leasing season window,” reads the report from Zumper.
Zumper said that the market is still favourable for renters due to the fact that rents are cheaper in most of its tracked markets across the country, and many move-in incentives are still available.
“With peak leasing season closing and the seasonally slower fall ahead, the question is whether this plateau holds or gives way to renewed declines once summer demand fades,” Zumper said.
What are the rents looking like in B.C.?
Burnaby is the city with the biggest annual rent drop across B.C., and the second in across the country.
Burnaby’s median rent for a one-bedroom has fallen by 7.4 per cent year-over-year, the biggest fall across Greater Vancouver. The median price in August was $2,130, a 2.7 per cent drop from July. Two-bedroom units in Burnaby also saw a substantial year-over-year decline, falling by 7.2 per cent, down to $2,720.
Meanwhile, Vancouver’s rent has also fallen (it is still the most pricey place to rent in Canada) but not as much as Burnaby’s. The median rent for a one-bedroom unit dropped 0.8 per cent month-over-month to $2,390. Year-over-year, it fell by 4.4 per cent.
The median price of a Vancouver two-bedroom unit fell by 2.9 per cent month-over-month, and 4.3 per cent year-over-year to $3,300.
Zumper
For a one-bedroom unit in Victoria, rent fell by 4.8 per cent year-over-year to $1,990 but was flat month-over-month. In Kelowna, year-over-year rent dropped 4.9 per cent, and 1.7 per cent month-over-month.
“The province’s record supply pipeline continues to weigh on rents,” wrote Zumper.
Further, rents continue to lag due to reduced temporary residents bringing down population growth, as well as a stagnant economy.
However, one B.C. city seems to have bucked the trend on one-bedroom units: Abbotsford.
The median rent for a one-bedroom unit in Abbotsford remained flat both month-over-month and year-over-year.
But a two-bedroom unit in the same city still fell by 0.5 per cent month-over-month and 8.10 per cent year-over-year.