There are some positive signs regarding the average asking rent in some Metro Vancouver cities, with one city in particular seeing a pretty sizeable drop in October compared to September.
Burnaby is that city, but it’s still the second-most expensive city to rent across the country, according to Rentals.ca’s latest national rent report.
While Vancouver still leads all of Canada regarding the average asking rent, rental rates declined compared to last month and last year.
BC had the most significant year-over-year apartment rent decreases after Ontario. In BC, the average rent dropped year-over-year by 3.4% to a province-wide average of $2,549 per month.
Vancouver
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In October, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver was $2,610. That’s a 1.5% drop compared to September and a 9.1% drop compared to October last year.
The average asking rent for two-bedroom units also saw a decent decrease. Compared to September, October saw the average asking rent of a two-bedroom unit in Vancouver reach $3,430. That’s a 1.7% drop month over month and a 9.2% drop year over year.
Vancouver leads the two-bedroom category by a mile.
Burnaby
Burnaby’s Metrotown skyline (Imagenet/Shutterstock)
A one-bedroom unit in Burnaby dropped to $2,398 in October. A 3.8% decrease compared to September and a 9.4% decrease compared to October last year.
The average rent for a two-bedroom unit actually increased by 0.3% in Burnaby, hitting $3,062 per month. That’s an 8.2% decrease compared to last October. Victoria was the only other BC city that experienced a rent increase for two-bedroom units, hitting $2,866 in October. (One-bedroom units in Victoria reached $2,151 in October.)
How BC stacks up against the rest of the country
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At one point, Toronto was neck and neck with Vancouver for the most expensive city to rent in on the Rentals.ca platform. In October, a one-bedroom unit in Toronto was $230 cheaper than in Vancouver.
Other major Canadian cities have an even bigger advantage.
For example, in October, a one-bedroom unit in Montreal was $1,718, almost $900 cheaper than in Vancouver.
In Alberta, the disparity is even greater. In October, Calgary and Edmonton were $952 and $1,226 cheaper than Vancouver, respectively.
Nationally, it was a good month for folks hoping to see rent come down.
“Asking rents for all residential property types in Canada averaged $2,152 during October, marking a 1.2% annual decrease. It was the first year-over-year decline in rents since July 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rentals.ca and Urbanation said in the report.
Rentals.ca
If you rent in Metro Vancouver, how do these numbers compare to what you pay?