A new rental report is revealing some notable changes, with many Metro Vancouver cities seeing a significant boost in rental affordability compared to last year.
Liv.rent’s December report had several takeaways, including the fact that some core Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods are experiencing a “clear reset” for unfurnished one and two-bedroom units.
The report says that compared to last December, rents fell five to 10 per cent in Vancouver, Burnaby, and the North Shore.
In Vancouver, rent for a one-bedroom dropped year-over-year from $2,490 per month to $2,308. North Vancouver saw rent fall from $2,531 to $2,365, and Burnaby saw a decrease from $2,292 to $2,165 per month.
Liv.rent adds that affordability is improving the most outside of the core, highlighting cities like Coquitlam, New Westminster, and Surrey as the top spots for affordability.
In Coquitlam this month, an unfurnished one-bedroom unit was being listed at an average of $1,916 per month, a 13 per cent drop compared to last December. Unfurnished one bedrooms in New Westminster have been going for around $1,906 per month, while the same unit type in Surrey is being listed for around $1,785.
Even though New West saw a big drop compared to last year, it actually saw a bit of an increase (6.37 per cent) in furnished one-bedroom units compared to the previous month.
Hubs that saw the most significant drops were in Burnaby, including Brentwood and Metrotown, which saw decreases of 11 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, compared to last year.
Active listings by property type also saw a shift, with partial house rentals seeing a notable increase.
liv.rent
The cheapest place to rent an unfurnished one-bedroom unit this month, according to liv.rent, is Surrey ($1,785). The most expensive is West Vancouver ($2,531).
Unfurnished units. (liv.rent)
Looking at different neighbourhoods, liv.rent says that the West End is the city’s most expensive neighbourhood to rent in, adding that an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in the West End rented for an average of $2,911 per month. The cheapest was Renfrew-Collingwood, where the average rent was $1,982 per month.
You can check out liv.rent’s full report for more Metro Vancouver rental insights.