B.C.’s average rental rate remains highest in Canada

British Columbians continued to pay the highest average rental rates in Canada despite marking a decline on a month-over-month basis.

Data from Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research and Consulting shows that B.C.’s average rental rate in August was $2,084, marking the seventh month in a row that B.C.’s rent was the highest in the nation. The provincial rental rate, which accounts for all available rental properties, was down 4.3 per cent from July’s figure, but is still up 4.2 per cent from the $2,001 recorded in August 2020.

Canada’s second highest rental rates for August was recorded in Ontario, where the average rent for all available rental properties was $2,045.

Meanwhile, the national average rent saw increases for the fourth consecutive month, rising to $1,763 per month in August 2021. That figure represents a 0.6 per cent increase from July, and is fairly consistent with the $1,769 recorded in August of 2020.

That figure comes as Canada’s average rent for a bachelor/studio suite in August was $1,285; one-bedroom units were going at $1,574; the average rent for a two-bedroom unit was $1,857; rent for a three-bedroom unit was $2,235; while the average rent for a four-bedroom unit was $2,903.

There was no breakdown of B.C.’s unit rates in the August report.

Rentals.ca reports that Canada’s average monthly rent is still roughly $190 below the market peak of $1,954 in September.

Rentals.ca notes that the figures in the rent report are based on available listings in order to best represent what a potential tenant would see when finding a rental property, and may be different from the figures presented by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.