Latest report finds average rent costs in Victoria continue to decline

According to the latest report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, the average asking rent is continuing to decline in Victoria, and on a national scale. 

In Canada as a whole, the average rent declined by 4.7% year-over year for the 19th consecutive month. Currently, the nationwide average asking rent is $2,027. 

After years of rising rent costs, renters are finally seeing the market plateau. 

Since April 2021, the middle of the pandemic, rent in Canada has risen by 21.9%. However, when looking at the past two years, rents have fallen by 7.4% since April 2024. 

In Victoria specifically, the cost of rent has dropped by 5.4% for one-bedroom units since this time last year, and by 2.2% for two-bedroom units. 

On average, a one-bedroom unit in Victoria is going for $1,968 per month, whereas a two-bedroom unit is costing $2,607. 

Month-over-month, the statistics represent a 0.3% decrease for one-bedrooms and a 0.9% increase for two-bedrooms’ rent. 

In January, Victoria was sitting in the 20th spot for most expensive Canadian cities to rent in, but has since climbed the ladder to 14th most expensive. 

Nanaimo is the only other Vancouver Island community to make the top 60 list at 32nd. 

There, one-bedrooms are going for around $1,820 per month and two-bedrooms for $2,213. 

The most expensive city to live in across Canada is North Vancouver, with one-bedrooms costing $2,523 per month and two-bedrooms costing $3,358.

Though these figures may seem high, they have actually decreased respectively by 5.9% and 5.7% since this time last year.

Conversely, the cheapest of the top 60 cities is St. John’s, Newfoundland, where a one-bedroom will cost around $1,073 per month—around $900 cheaper than Victoria—and a two-bedroom goes for around $1,249.

The BC government attributes the steady decrease in rent costs to the increase in new, purpose-built rental units being built in municipalities that have been targeted to increase their rental supply.