The numbers are in and those looking for a new place to call home in Greater Victoria seem to be holding a winning hand.
Zumper’s National Rent Index for August lists the average rent for a one-bedroom in Victoria at $2,020 – a 6% drop from the previous month and down 6.5% from August 2024 and 7% from the peak of $2,180 in May 2024.
"After years of rapid growth, the city’s rental market appears to be softening," said Zumper spokesperson Crystal Chen. "The pullback is being fuelled by new long-term supply from short-term rental conversions, coupled with softer population growth. While rent prices remain high, there's clear signs that Victoria’s overheated market is beginning to cool."
Nationally, the report found Canada's median rent for one-bedrooms dropped 0.7% last month to $1,821, which is down 4.2% from the previous year. Victoria dropped a spot to the fifth most expensive city in the country, behind Vancouver ($2,500), Burnaby ($2,380), Toronto ($2,220) and Halifax ($2,100). Only Vancouver (7.4%), Toronto (11.9%), Oshawa (6.8%), Barrie (8.8%), Kitchener (9.3%) and Calgary (9.2%) had higher year-over-year declines than Victoria.
The cost of two-bedrooms has witnessed a more modest decline, with Victoria's median rent of $2,790 in August the same as the previous month and down 3.8% from August 2024. The city is home to the fourth most expensive two-bedrooms in the country, with Vancouver topping the list at $3,490.
Chen, the author of the report, said they've witnessed a lot of effort being put into building more housing across Canada.
"According to CMHC, the nation's purpose-built rental apartments grew by 4.1% last year, which is the highest increase in over 30 years."
She said Zumper's data reflects asking rents from hundreds of thousands of active listings we have on our site in Canada every month.
"We source our listings through a combination of proprietary listings posted by property owners and brokers through our landlord platform as well as third party listings received from MLS providers," she said.
The latest report from Rentals.ca ranks the $2,035 cost for a one-bedroom in Victoria as Canada's 19th most expensive market, seeing a 0.9% drop from last month and a 6.6% decline from August 2024. North Vancouver tops the list at $2,602, followed by Vancouver at $2,529 and Coquitlam at $2,331. Victoria's two-bedrooms are priced at $2,708, up 0.2% from last month but down 5.3% from the same time last year.
The summer update from Rentals.ca shows that more than a third of renters spend over 50% of their income on rent. Younger renters (ages 18-24) are particularly affected, with 49% devoting the majority of their income towards rent.
However, the update reports that there are some things renters are willing to fork over a bit extra for. The survey found 57% are willing to pay more for in-unit laundry, 44% will pay a premium for air conditioning, 43% say parking is worth the cost, 34% would sacrifice a few extra bucks for a private outdoor space, and 31% would dig a little deeper for pet-friendly policies.
