Rebounding from a seasonal dip, the average price of a rental property in Metro Vancouver kept climbing last month.
According to liv.rent’s February 2022 Vancouver Rent Report, the average price of an unfurnished one-bedroom rental rose to $1,840, up $13 from January’s average of $1,827.
“Metro Vancouver’s average rent is now at $1,840, up from their already high January levels,” said the report. “This increase was largely led by cities like Langley and New Westminster, which both saw significant upward trends this month.”
In Vancouver, one-bedroom unfurnished rentals rose 0.6 per cent in price while furnished units surged 20.4 per cent. Prices increased significantly for both rental options in New Westminster, where the price of an unfurnished one-bedroom unit saw a 10 per cent hike and furnished listings jumped 30.9 per cent.
Unfurnished one-bedroom rentals in Langley, West Vancouver and Richmond climbed 10.1 per cent, 4.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent last month, respectively. During the same time period, one-bedroom furnished properties in West Vancouver and Richmond saw significant drops, down 31 per cent and 10.4 per cent.
Last month’s price shifts expanded the gap between Metro Vancouver’s furnished ($2,099) and unfurnished ($1,840) one-bedroom rental units, which had narrowed toward the end of 2021.
“The price difference between average rent for furnished and unfurnished units is now $259 this February,” the report said. “For a few months, renters could find furnished units for nearly the same price as unfurnished ones, but this trend looks to have reversed and returned to normal.”
Renters pay an average rent per square foot (RPSF) of $2.71 across Metro Vancouver. Downtown Vancouver continues to be the region’s most expensive place to rent with an RPSF of $3.37, while Langley ($2.30) and Surrey ($2.30) offer the cheapest rental options.
On average, liv.rent reported that unfurnished one-bedrooms cost more than $1,700 in all communities with the exception of Langley and Surrey, where listings averaged $1,433 and $1,549. West Vancouver is the region’s most expensive community, with an average price of $2,212 for an unfurnished one-bedroom.
Langley had the cheapest unfurnished two-bedroom average of $1,825, while Surrey had the least expensive unfurnished three-bedroom rentals, priced at $2,645.
Langley also offered the cheapest one-bedroom furnished rental at $1,625, with Surrey home to the cheapest furnished two- and three-bedrooms at $2,129 and $2,997.
Vancouver remained the most expensive rental city in Canada for unfurnished one-bedroom units last month, with Toronto ($1,790) rebounding strongly from last month’s figures ($1,678) to leapfrog Victoria ($1,750) as the two markets contend for second place.
