Two Metro Vancouver cities top the leaderboard regarding asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Canada, with Burnaby following closely behind Vancouver.
Rentals.ca has released its latest rent report, looking at the average asking rent across Canada. Victoria ranks among the top 10.
While the asking price for a one-bedroom in Vancouver has spiked slightly compared to last month, the cost of two-bedroom rentals decreased slightly.
In April, the asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Vancouver hit $2,646 per month, a 0.5% increase compared to March but a -5.1% drop compared to April 2023.
According to previous reports from Rentals.ca, this is the first month-over-month increase Vancouver has seen in months.
Burnaby saw some considerable growth compared to last year, with a 9.6% increase in rent for a one-bedroom, reaching $2,553 per month in April.
In April’s report, North Vancouver was the most expensive place to rent in Canada, with the asking price for one-bedroom units reaching $2,704 a month. North Vancouver is absent from May’s report, and we’ve asked Rentals.ca why.
Often touted as a cheaper place to rent, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Surrey was $2,097 in April.
On Vancouver Island, one-bedroom units in Victoria reached an average asking price of $2,113 per month, a 0.1% month-over-month increase and a 5.4% year-over-year increase.
Across the board nationally, Canada saw an average increase of 9.3% for all rental types.
Rent for a two-bedroom in Metro Vancouver
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Two-bedroom units saw both month-over-month and year-over-year decreases for Vancouver.
In April, the average asking price for a two-bedroom unit hit $3,605 per month, marking a -0.2 % decrease month over month and a -3.6 % decrease year over year.
Burnaby rent increased 0.5% compared to last month, but its year-over-year decrease was -2.4%, with two-bedroom units hitting $3,153 per month.
In Victoria, two-bedroom units seem to be quite a bit cheaper than in Vancouver, with average asking prices hitting $2,769 in April. This marked a 3.4% month-over-month increase and a 6.3% year-over-year increase.
With many people moving to cheaper places in Canada, like Edmonton and Calgary, both cities’ average rents are seeing significant year-over-year spikes. Edmonton saw a 16.4% year-over-year increase, with one-bedroom units hitting $1,353 per month. Meanwhile, Calgary saw an 8.0% year-over-year increase, with one-bedroom units hitting $1,736 monthly.
While they’re still much cheaper than the average rent in Metro Vancouver, the influx of people moving to those cities seems to be impacting rent rates.