Vancouver Rents Fall for 30 Straight Months as B.C. Leads Canada in Declines
One-Bedroom Rents Are Down 6.3% Year-Over-Year, With B.C. Posting Canada’s Steepest Provincial Declines
Source: Daily Hive
The cost of living keeps climbing for many British Columbians. For renters, though, one number is finally moving in their favour. Vancouver apartment rents have now fallen on a year-over-year basis for 30 months in a row.
The latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation puts British Columbia at the front of the pack: the province posted the largest annual apartment rent declines in the country.
Why Rents Are Cooling
Several forces are pulling in the same direction. According to Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand, a soft economy, a shrinking population, and a record wave of new apartment completions are all keeping rent growth unusually quiet heading into the busy summer leasing season. The result, he notes, is continued relief for renters after years of steep increases.
Where Vancouver Sits on the National Map
Even with rents falling, Vancouver remains an expensive place to live. Its overall average of $2,712 ranks second among Canada’s top rental markets. The top spot goes to North Vancouver, where the average rent reaches $2,927.
Several other B.C. communities also made the country’s 20 most expensive list, including Coquitlam, Burnaby, and Langley, alongside Victoria.
- Canada has now seen 20 straight months of year-over-year declines in asking rents.
- At the provincial level, the largest drops came from British Columbia (down 5.4%), Ontario (down 5%), and Alberta (down 4.7%).
- B.C. is one of only two provinces to record rent declines across the past three years.
- Nova Scotia has overtaken B.C. as the most expensive province for apartments, averaging $2,343.
- Saskatchewan still leads long-term growth, with rents up 26.2% over three years.
The Ownership Picture
Lower rents are welcome news, but the path to ownership remains steep. A recent Desjardins report compares Vancouver and Toronto to global cities such as London, New York, and Sydney, where affordability and ownership rates sit well below national norms.
For a growing number of households, the report suggests, renting may no longer be a short stop before buying. With prices high relative to incomes, it can become a long-term, sometimes permanent, way of living.
That makes the timing of any move worth thinking through carefully, whether you are renting, buying, or weighing your options between the two.
Source: Rentals.ca and Urbanation National Rent Report, June 2026. Figures are subject to change.
