Average Vancouver one-bedroom rent reaches record high
The increase comes in spite of a drop in average home prices across the city
By Emma Crawford Hampel
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver remains the highest in Canada, and it increased another 1.6 per cent in February, reaching the highest level on record.
Vancouverites are, on average, paying C$1,900 (US1,454) for a one-bedroom unit, according to PadMapper. The increase comes in spite of a drop in average home prices across the city; the British Columbia Real Estate Association announced home prices fell 19 per cent year-over-year in January.
Toronto came in second with an average price of C$1,620 (US$1,240)for this home type, which was a 4.5 per cent month-over-month jump.
Prices for two-bedroom apartments in Vancouver fell 0.6 per cent in the month to C$3,130 (US$2,396). The city’s rent in this category remains in a class of its own in terms of high cost; the next most expensive city for this home type is once again Toronto at C$2,060 (US$1,577), making Vancouver 52 per cent more expensive than in Canada’s biggest city. This gap has narrowed from January, when two-bedroom rents were 60 per cent higher in Vancouver, as Toronto saw a price jump of 4.6 per cent in February.
One-bedroom apartments cost 1.6 per cent more in Victoria in February, with an average of C$1,290 (US$987). Two bedroom rents fell 1.3 per cent to C$1,470 (US$1,125).
The city with the lowest rent in Canada in February was Saguenay, Quebec, where one-bedroom apartments went for C$490 (US$375), and two-bedroom units cost C$600 (US$459) per month.
