In January, Victoria and Halifax were tied as the fourth most expensive cities to rent in across Canada, but in February, Victoria pulled ahead slightly, according to a recent report.
Zumper, an online rental platform which analyzes the market across Canada, says that the average one-bedroom unit in Victoria costs $2,030 per month and a two-bedroom goes for $2,680.
This represents a 0.5% decrease and a 0.4% increase respectively.
Vancouver remains the most expensive city to rent in, coming in at $2,650 per month for a one-bedroom, while two-bedrooms are $3,700.
Next after Vancouver is Toronto and Burnaby, who have held the second and third most expensive slots for the past year.
Last month, Zumper found that rent is increasing at a quickened pace in Alberta with Edmonton’s rent climbing by 27.5% and Calgary’s increasing by 12% since last year.
They say that this is largely because of interprovincial migration and many people moving to Alberta for jobs.
However, comparatively, Alberta is much cheaper to live in than in Victoria.
A one-bedroom in Edmonton costs around $1,300 per month and in Calgary, a one-bedroom is approximately $1,840.
Zumper says now that the slow moving season has come to an end, the price of rent across the country is likely to increase gradually through the summer.
However, in BC the short-term rental restrictions are coming into effect on May 1st. Many in Victoria hope this will help flood the market with long-term rental options, bringing down the average rental cost.
Victoria’s Mayor, Marianne Alto is fighting this new legislation, requesting the Province to delay the implementation until November so the lack of short-term rentals doesn’t overwhelm the local hotel industry.
