The latest report from Rentals.ca finds that the average asking rent in Victoria has risen slightly, while on a national scale, rent is decreasing.
On the whole, Canada’s average rent declined by 4% year-over-year, dropping for the 22nd consecutive month.
Currently, the nationwide average asking rent is $2,037, which represents a month-over-month increase of 0.2%. Experts with Rentals.ca say this marks a fourth consecutive monthly increase during the market’s seasonal peak, signaling that rent costs may be stabilizing.
In Victoria, the cost of rent has dropped by 1.1% for one-bedroom units since this time last year, and has remained stable with 0% change in average asking price for two-bedroom units.
On average, a one-bedroom unit in Victoria is going for $2,016 per month, whereas an average two-bedroom unit costs $2,682.
Month-over-month, the statistics represent a 0.9% increase for one-bedrooms and a 1.5% increase for two-bedrooms’ rent.
In January, Victoria was sitting in the 20th spot for most expensive Canadian cities to rent in, but unfortunately, has since climbed the ladder to 14th most expensive.
Nanaimo is the only other Vancouver Island community to make the top 60 list at 27th. There, one-bedrooms are going for around $1,835 per month and two-bedrooms for $2,290.
North Vancouver still reigns as the most expensive city to live in throughout Canada, with one-bedrooms costing $2,588 per month and two-bedrooms costing $3,458.
Though these figures may seem high, they have actually decreased respectively by 1.5% and 1.7% since this time last year.
Conversely, according to the report, the cheapest of the top 60 cities continues to be St. John’s, Newfoundland. In St. John’s, a one-bedroom costs around $1,105 per month—around $900 cheaper than Victoria—and a two-bedroom goes for around $1,314.
Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs in BC, says that the year-over-year decreases in British Columbia are the result of the work the Province has been taking to build more affordable homes and increase vacancy rates to balance the market.
“We know that prices need to be more affordable, and seeing asking rents are down 11.9% from their August 2023 peak is encouraging news,” said Boyle.
“It takes more than just luck or national trends to hit a two-year-long streak. It is proof that our policies, such as the speculation and vacancy tax and working with communities to build more affordable rental housing, are helping everyday people get ahead.”
She also noted an upcoming plan deemed to be a “made-in-BC solution” for homeownership to see similar results to rental market efforts.
“We look forward to sharing the details of our plan in the coming months,’ said Boyle.
“As we build a path to homeownership for thousands of people, we haven’t stopped building more affordable rental homes in communities throughout the province.”
According to a 2025 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Rental Market Report, the vacancy rate in Victoria had climbed to 3.3%, the highest it’s been since 1999.
When Victoria was targeted by the Province to build more rental units in 2023, which is also when the local rental market peaked, the vacancy rate was at 1.5%.
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