Victoria remains one of the four most expensive Canadian cities to rent an apartment last month.
However, there was a dip in the rental price for 1-bedroom apartments in September.
According to the latest Canadian National Rent Report released by Zumper, a digital marketplace for renters and property managers, despite ranking as one of the top 10 most expensive cities to rent in the country, the price for 1-bedroom units in Victoria fell 0.5 per cent to an average of $2,150 per month, lower than August's $2,160.
Two-bedroom units remained unchanged at $2,850 for August and September.
Three other B.C. cities made it to the list, including Vancouver, which is the most expensive city nationwide with an average rent price of $2,650, followed by Burnaby with $2,430 and Kelowna with $2,000.
The report analyzed hundreds of thousands of listings last month to examine median rent prices across the 23 largest cities in the country to pull insights on the latest rental trends.
Zumper’s October report says Canada’s national rent index showed the annual growth rate for the median one-bedroom rent was 1.3 per cent, settling at a price of $1,899, while for 2-bedrooms it was 0.7 per cent, settling at $2,359.
This continued slowdown, the report said, is likely due to a combination of increased supply and a decline in demand because of population-related changes by government policies, specifically, the cap on the number of foreign student enrolments this school year, which has dropped to 45 per cent nationwide, according to Universities Canada.
This significantly lowers the overall demand, and the national rent seems to be reflecting that.
With supply on the rise and demand stabilizing, Canada’s rental market seems to be finding a balance it has not seen in the last few years since the pandemic, the report said.
