Rent in Vancouver drops but keeps dubious honour of most expensive in Canada
The average asking rent in Vancouver has dropped to nearly a three-year low but continues to be the most expensive place to rent in Canada.
According to the latest report from rentals.ca, compared to January, rent dropped month over month by 0.2 per cent. Year over year, the city’s rent has fallen by 5.1 per cent.
In February, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Vancouver was $2,518, while the average rent for a two-bedroom unit was $3,442. Burnaby was just behind Vancouver, where a one-bedroom unit did increase by 2.1 per cent compared to January to $2,367.
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Rentals.ca says that asking rents for all apartment types in Vancouver declined 4.8 per cent from a year ago to $2,870.
“Which was the lowest level since April 2022 — a nearly three-year low,” the report states.
The average asking rent for shared accommodation in Vancouver also dropped. In February 2024, the average asking rent for shared accommodation was $1,406, which fell to $1,360 this year.
When comparing Vancouver to cities from other provinces, there’s still quite a gap between Vancouver and second place.
Across all unit types, Toronto is the second-most expensive city to rent, but it’s still over $250 cheaper than Vancouver. Victoria is the only other B.C.-based city in the top 10 when looking at all unit types.
Rentals.ca
Rentals.ca says, “In Toronto, the largest annual rent decline was reported for two-bedroom apartments (-7 per cent to $3,081), while in Vancouver, rents fell the most for one-bedroom apartments (-5.8 per cent to $2,526).”
Victoria also saw a slight rise in February (0.8 per cent) compared to January, where the average one-bedroom rent reached $2,100.
Ontario-based cities dominated the rest of the leaderboard.
Rentals.ca
Nationally, Rentals.ca says that “average asking rents in Canada declined compared to a year ago for the fifth consecutive month in February, falling 4.8 per cent to $2,088 — the lowest level since July 2023.”
Of all major cities, Calgary saw the most significant drop in rent compared to last February (-7.5 per cent). The average one-bedroom unit in Calgary is $1,583, nearly $1,000 cheaper than in Vancouver.
Does seeing rent numbers like that make you want to move from Vancouver to a city like Calgary or another more affordable city in Canada?