The latest report from Rentals.ca finds that the average asking rent in Victoria has risen for the first time in months, while on a national scale, rent is decreasing.
Canada’s average rent declined by 4.7% year-over-year, dropping for the 20th consecutive month.
Currently, the nationwide average asking rent is $2,029, which represents a month-over-month increase of 0.01%, or $2 increase.
According to the rental report, since April 2021, mid-pandemic, rent in Canada has risen by 21.9%. Fast forward the past two years, and rents have fallen by 7.4% since April 2024.
In Victoria specifically, the cost of rent has dropped by 2.1% for one-bedroom units since this time last year, and by 3.9% for two-bedroom units.
On average, a one-bedroom unit in Victoria is going for $2,009 per month, whereas an average two-bedroom unit costs $2,598.
Month-over-month, the statistics represent a 2.1% increase for one-bedrooms and a 0.3% 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 15th most expensive, although the city did drop from 14th since April.
Nanaimo is the only other Vancouver Island community to make the top 60 list at 31st. There, one-bedrooms are going for around $1,844 per month and two-bedrooms for $2,244.
The most expensive city to live in across Canada is North Vancouver, with one-bedrooms costing $2,445 per month and two-bedrooms costing $3,302.
Though these figures may seem high, they have actually decreased respectively by 6.7% and 7.7% since this time last year.
Conversely, the cheapest of the top 60 cities is St. John’s, Newfoundland, where a one-bedroom costs around $1,065 per month—around $900 cheaper than Victoria—and a two-bedroom goes for around $1,253.
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.
“We’ve said it before, and each month shows that what we’re doing is working and we need to keep going so renters can get the full benefits of more reasonable housing costs and more housing choices,” said Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs.
“We know we need to work harder to ensure we can continue to bring down the cost to deliver more homes for people throughout this province in order to see these trends continue.”
She noted that in the past month, the Province has broken ground and opened several new affordable housing projects throughout BC, including 478 in Greater Victoria.
Additionally, the Province recently announced Camosun College’s Lansdowne campus will be getting its first student housing facility, featuring 429 beds that are meant to ease the pressure on the rental market for students and non-students alike.
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