Rent prices are slowly but steadily trending downwards in Kelowna, and the huge volume of condos might help speed up that descent into affordability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kelowna\u2019s average asking price to rent a one-bedroom apartment is $1,953, down 1.3 per cent from this time last year, and a two-bedroom is going for $2,317, down 9.4 per cent from this time last year, according to the latest report from Rentals.ca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in B.C. is $2,505, down 3.5 per cent year-over-year, and the national rent is $2,137, down 2.3 per cent from last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rentals.ca includes condos in its rental calculations. The national rental price for a one-bedroom condo is at $2,005, down by 4.3 per cent from last year. Rent around the country has been going down for 11 months straight, but prices are still one per cent higher than they were in August 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shannon Stone is a realtor in Kelowna who sells condos and she said sellers are having a bit of a tough time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think those days of being able to buy a condo, rent it for cash flow, may be gone… if you’re wanting one of the new builds, that’s probably going to be tricky when you factor in strata fees,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With rent prices on the decline and mortgage interest rates around 4 per cent, she said the days of people buying condos as rental properties could be coming to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The market is moving away from investors looking to make a quick profit from the actual rent payments and towards investors that are holding onto a condo for a few years hoping its value goes up, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are currently 893 condos on the market in the Central Okanagan, according to the latest data from the Association of Interior Realtors. The benchmark condo price in Central Okanagan is around $497,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n