Vancouver rent is getting more expensive again
Vancouver rent continued to rise in August, following the seasonal trend of month-over-month increases.
Rentals.ca and Urbanation recently released their August national rent report, revealing the average asking rent in cities and provinces across Canada.
Vancouver’s average asking rent went up by one per cent in August, rising to $2,704. But year-over-year, prices are still down by 3.4 per cent.
Canada-wide, the average asking rent for all propety types was $2,035, down 4.8 per cent year-over-year. Rentals.ca said that monthly rents changed relatively flat across the country.
Rent prices started to slowly creep up in the spring and summer months, following months of declines. But Rentals.ca seems to think this trend is at its end.
“The seasonal tailwind that lifted rents through the spring and summer has faded, and the trade war escalation is emerging as a new uncertainty for the rental market,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president at Urbanation, in a release.
“Demand could be impacted in the near term through lower employment and consumer confidence, while supply is being threatened through potentially higher construction costs. For now, the direct exposure appears localized to specific industries and regions, but the broader economic uncertainty is something to watch out for.”
What are rents looking like in Vancouver?
In Vancouver, the one-bedroom’s average was $2,350 in August, dropping about one per cent from July and nearly six per cent year-over-year.
A two-bedroom average was $3,248, slipped down by just 0.2 per cent month-over-month and 4.4 per cent year-over-year.
While one-bedroom and two-bedroom units dropped in price, Rentals.ca told Daily Hive in an email that “studio and three-bedroom-plus units appear to be holding up steadier than one- and two-bedroom units,” which is why the average rent overall increased.
Vancouver’s rent prices peaked in September 2023, when the average asking rent in the city was $3,335.
Renter demand outpaced supply due to the fact that Canada has a decades-long undersupply of purpose-built rentals and, at the same time, was experiencing unprecedented population growth.
“We just saw demand outpace supply, and like any commodity, when that happens, prices go up because there is such a limited amount of it available,” said Giacomo Ladas, the associate director of communications for Rentals.ca, in a recent interview with Daily Hive.
Rent prices have softened since then because the federal government has reversed the demand, limiting population growth, while also increasing incentives to bring in new purpose-built rentals to boost supply.
What about other Metro Vancouver cities?
North Vancouver remains the most expensive city to rent in Canada, with average asking rent at $3,036. A one-bedroom was $2,500, and a two-bedroom was $3,434.
New Westminster’s average asking rent was $2,203, with a one-bedroom at $1,901 and a two-bedroom at $2,655.