As the snow has most Victorians hunkered down indoors, it is noteworthy that people who are on the hunt for a new place to live will likely be paying more than they would have last month.
According to a monthly rental report by Zumper, a rental platform and analysis firm, the cost of living in Victoria has climbed by 1% since last month when it comes to one-bedroom properties.
The report shows that currently, a one bedroom in Victoria goes for around $2,020 per month while a two-bedroom will go for around $2,730, a slight dip of 0.4%.
Across the rest of Canada, the statistics show a downward trend on the cost of rent.
Zumper says that in 15 of 23 major Canadian cities, rents either remain flat or declined on a monthly basis. This may signal a slow moving season throughout the country.
In Canada as a whole, the average cost of rent fell by 0.4% as well to $1,883 per month for a one-bedroom and for two-bedrooms, the national average fell by 0.7% to $2,343.
“This is the first month since we started tracking the national rent index, which was in the summer of 2022, that rates for both bedroom types have fallen on a monthly basis,” wrote Crystal Chen, Zumper Analyst.
She found that when looking at the country on a year-over-year basis, both one and two bedrooms are down from 11% last month to around 9.4% and 8.8% respectively.
Vancouver remains the most expensive city to rent in with one-bedrooms going for 2,700 per month and two-bedrooms at $3,890.
Following Vancouver, Toronto and Burnaby are listed as the second and third most expensive cities with Victoria holding its fourth place ranking once again.
Since this time last year, it is noteworthy that Québec has proven to be an outlier with average rentals jumping up by 21.6% since this time last year.
Those who think it’s cheaper on the prairies may want to think again before packing up and shipping out.
Although they are low when compared to the rest of the country, Edmonton and Winnipeg both had increases in their average rentals of around 19% since this time in 2023.
Despite this, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton and Winnipeg are the cheapest places to live, but they do have much harsher winters than Victoria does, with every day bringing a possible snowfall comparable to the one Victoria got today—Wednesday, January 17th.
If you were to pack up and go, where would you go? Would you leave simply because of the cost of rent?
Let us know in the comments!
