Victoria rents pricier last month compared to April 2022

Those trying to get a unit in Victoria’s rental market last month would’ve found it pricier than at the same time last year.

That’s according to two reports that found available rentals locally stayed somewhat steady in price since March but in most cases cost more than in April 2022.

Zumper placed Victoria fourth among Canada’s most expensive cities in April as it looked at the median price of a vacant one-bedroom apartment. That report put that monthly price at $2,000, while a two-bedroom space would be $2,500.

That going rate for a one-bed in April is up 9.3 per cent from the same month in 2022, while the year-over-year change saw a five per cent increase for two-bedroom units.

Zumper pointed to the national vacancy rate for rentals sitting below two per cent, meaning demand in Canada continues to outpace the rental supply. Last year saw the strongest rental supply growth rate since 2013, but Zumper noted high mortgage rates pricing people out of ownership and the growing population were factors in keeping the rental demand above supply.

Rentals.ca ranked Victoria 12th in Canada when looking at the average price of a local one-bedroom (across all housing types) that was on the market, which it found to be $2,005 in April. That came in 7.3 per cent higher than what the average Victoria one-bedroom was listed at in April 2022.

Rentals.ca also found the average rent of a vacant two-bedroom rose from March to April, but fell compared to the same time in 2022.

Statistics Canada on Tuesday said April rents were up just over six per cent nationwide compared to April 2022. Unlike the rental listing websites that look solely at vacant units, Statistics Canada’s calculation uses a sample of all rental dwellings over a half-year period, with one-sixth of those households in the set replaced each month.

The data agency said the higher interest rate environment may be contributing to rising rents in April by stimulating higher rental demand. Shelter costs were a large factor in inflation rising 4.4 per cent compared to last April.

“On a year-over-year basis, higher rent prices and mortgage interest costs contributed the most to the all-items (consumer price index) increase in April 2023,” Statistics Canada wrote.

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