B.C.’s average rent up 2.7 per cent in April

British Columbia continued to have the highest average rental rates in Canada in April.

The rental report from Rentals.ca shows that in April, B.C.’s average rate for all property types was $2,347 a month.

That marks an increase of 2.7 per cent from the $2,200 monthly rent in March.

British Columbia had the highest average rent in Canada, followed by Ontario at $2,093 and Nova Scotia at $1,939.

The median rental rate in B.C. was recorded at $2,200 a month, which was also the highest in the province followed by Ontario’s $2,000 and the $1,810 a month rent in the Northwest Territories.

B.C.’s monthly rent increase was also the highest in the country, followed by a 2.3 per cent increase in Saskatchewan and a 2.1 per cent jump in Alberta.

Median and average rental rates for all property types by province. (graphic courtesy of Rentals.ca)

Rentals.ca’s also compiles a national rent rankings, and of the 35 cities included in the list, four cities in B.C.ranked among the top ten most expensive, with a fourth placing 14th.

Vancouver had the highest average rental rates of all Canadian cities listed in the report at $2,334 for one-bedroom units (up 2.37 per cent monthly and 18.12 annually), and $3,324 for two-bedroom units (up 6.47 per cent monthly and 23.71 per cent annually). Vancouver’s year-to-year increases in both property types were the highest in all the cities included in the report.

Also noted on the list was Burnaby at sixth place with one-bedroom units at $1,883 and two-bedroom units at $2,211; Victoria at ninth place with one-bedroom units at $1,776 and two-bedroom units at $2,338; and 14th place Surrey at $1,655 for one-bedroom units and $2.259 for two-bedroom properties.

No cities in the Interior of B.C. were included in the rental rankings.

Meantime, Canada as a whole saw all average rent for all property types rise to $1,821 in April 2022.

That figure is up 0.1 per cent from the $1,818 average rent in March, and up nine per cent from the average rent of $1,676 recorded in April of 2021.

The report shows that, nationally, rent for all property types were up, with single family homes going for an average of $2,776 a month (up 2.2 per cent monthly); townhouses at $2,265 (up 3.8 per cent); condos and apartments being rented for $2,235 (up 1.5 per cent); rental apartments rising to $1,651 (up 0.3 per cent); and basement suites costing $1,590 (up 1.2 per cent).

The report did not include property type breakdowns for B.C. or any other province.

The figures included in the report were based on active listing prices on Rentals.ca during the month in question.