Vancouver rents dip for second year, report finds

Average rents in Vancouver dipped in January, but the city remains the most expensive major centre in the country, according to new data.

The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the city was $2,512 in January — down seven per cent compared with the same time last year — the report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation says.

For a two-bedroom unit, the average price was $3,430 — a drop of 6.3 per cent compared to January 2024.

Overall, taking into account all property types, the average was $2,882 — down six per cent year-over-year.

This is the second straight year of declines, the report says.

The average rent across Canada for all property types was $2,109 — a 17-month low, down 3.2 per cent year-over-year.

“The decline in rents [Canada-wide] last year followed growth of 8.6 per cent in 2023 and 12.1 per cent in 2022, representing the first time that rents experienced an annual decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when rents fell 5.4 per cent,” the report said. “Overall, rents increased by a total of 16.8 per cent over the past five years, which equates to an average of 3.15 per cent per year.”

The report says outside of the country’s biggest cities, North Vancouver and Coquitlam had some of the country’s highest rents, with $3,083 and $2,944, respectively.