It now costs on average $3,666 to rent a two-bedroom home in Vancouver
Article content
A national rent report released on Monday shows Vancouver rents rose 9.7 per cent between May 2022 and May 2023.
Advertisement 2
Article content
While this is bad news for the region’s renters, the rate of increase has fallen. The same report — released by rentals.ca — showed that between April 2022 and April 2023, the rate of increase in Vancouver was 16.8 per cent.
Article content
Across Canada, rents increased at a rate of 6.5 per cent, which is the lowest increase in 18 months.
The report listed 35 Canadian cities and ranked Vancouver as the most expensive rental market.
It now costs on average $3,666 to rent a two-bedroom home in Vancouver — an 8.7 per cent hike — and $2,831 to rent a one-bedroom home, a 16 per cent hike.
Burnaby was the third-most expensive city in Canada. Victoria came 11th, Kelowna 15th and Surrey 17th.
Matt Danison, CEO of rentals.ca, said municipal, provincial and federal governments must increase rental housing supply given the pressures of rising home prices, record immigration and rising interest rates.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
“Gen Z could become the boomerang generation, moving back in with their parents, or the roommate generation, splitting rent as it’s unaffordable for many Canadians to pay rent on their own,” Danison said.
The City of Vancouver has developed a policy that encourages the development of renter-only condo projects, with 20 per cent of those condos offering below-market rent.
Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation’s last annual Rental Market Report was published in January.
Advertisement 4
Article content
It found that strong rental demand had outpaced supply, leading to a rental vacancy rate of just 1.9 per cent. That was the lowest since 2001.
This increase in renter demand was driven by increased immigration, students returning to on-campus learning after COVID-19 and increased interest rates that making home ownership more expensive.
There was also a big difference between annual rental increase for units that turned over to another tenant (18.2 per cent) compared to rent increases for an existing tenant (2.8 per cent). This is because most provinces have renter protection, which means an owner can only increase rent each year by a certain percentage — usually at or below the rate of inflation — but can charge whatever they want once the previous renter has left.
Advertisement 5
Article content
This is leading also to a very low renter turnover across the country.
The CMHC report found that average rents in Vancouver had increased 6.3 per cent between January 2022 and January 2023.
“Important imbalances exist in the Vancouver rental market. Our data show that lower-income households face significant challenges finding units that they can afford,” the report stated.
Support our journalism: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 per week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.
Related
Article content
Vancouver rents are still going up, but not as fast: Rentals.ca - Vancouver Sun
Read More
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Join the Conversation