Victoria remains the fourth most expensive city to rent one-bedroom homes in throughout Canada, tying with Halifax.
According to Zumper’s Canadian rent report it costs around $2,060 per month on average to rent a one-bedroom unit in both cities.
However, it is more expensive to rent a two-bedroom unit in Victoria, with the average cost being $2,750 per month, whereas Halifax’s two-bedrooms go for $2,400.
Since last month’s rent report, Zumper says that Victoria’s rent for both one and two-bedroom units has risen by 1.5%.
The rent report says that Halifax experienced the fastest monthly rent growth in the nation, rising 2.5% since last month.
Overall, British Columbia continues to dominate the list of most expensive cities to rent in.
Vancouver is the most expensive, with one-bedrooms going for around $2,540 and two-bedrooms being an average of $3,490 per month.
Second is Burnaby, where one-bedroom units’ rent costs around $2,370 per month and two-bedrooms cost an average of $3,000.
Toronto is the only city in the top five most expensive cities to rent in that is outside of BC, with one-bedroom units costing $2,310 and two-bedroom units going for around $2,980.
Up until recently, Toronto held the spot for second most expensive city to rent across Canada, but since prices have been rising in Burnaby, the Ontario city held third place for the second month in a row.
On average, Canadian rent costs fell across the board last month for the fifth month in a row to $1,850 per month for one-bedrooms, while two-bedrooms dropped to $2,285.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Canada’s national vacancy rate rose from 1.5% in 2023 to 2.2% in 2024.
Zumper says that this increase in vacancies is largely due to a surge in purpose-built rental construction.
Throughout Canada, the supply of rental units grew by 4.1% in 2024, which is the highest increase in over 30 years.
Additionally, recent immigration policy changes have contributed to lowering Canada’s population growth, which has aided in easing demand.
