Times have never been tougher for renters in Canada but in Victoria at least the average cost of rent has plateaued over the last few months; although, the same can’t be said for several other cities across BC and the rest of the country.
According to Zumper, a rental data analysis firm as well as resource to find rental options, the average one-bedroom rent in Victoria over the last month has remained at $2,020. However, two-bedroom units’ cost has risen by 1.9% on average to $2,670.
These figures put Victoria at the fourth most expensive city in Canada to rent in.
Meanwhile in Vancouver, rent has hit an all-time high with one bedroom units averaging $2,800 — a 1.1% climb from last month’s record-setting cost. Two-bedrooms have been averaging a whopping $3,850 which is a 1.9% increase from last month’s rental report, similar to Victoria’s rate of increase.
Halifax, Nova Scotia saw the largest increase over the last month with a 4.4% climb, putting them in the top five most expensive cities in Canada with one-bedroom units costing an average of $1,910 and two-bedrooms costing $2,390.
All-in-all, rent is up 15% as compared to last year across the country.
The only city to see a significant drop in the price of rent was Windsor, Ontario, with it’s average going down 3.7% to $1,300 per month.
According to Zumper’s rental report, the state of the rental market is getting pricier for Canadians because of three core reasons.
The first reason is that in the past few years immigration has been at an all time high, meaning there are far more people to house while domestically, Canada’s population is climbing at a significant rate as well.
The next reason is that with interest rates being so high, along with the incredibly high cost of becoming a first-time homeowner, people are renting for longer periods of time which makes demand skyrocket among people who do need housing.
The last cause is that at this time of year, with a plethora of summer activities always on the go and the temperature being so hot, people are less inclined to want to move in the heat of the summer — especially when Victorians are staring down the barrel of another impending heat wave.
Zumper’s report says that prices are likely to remain high and continue to rise over the next few months.
