Rents coming down in Kelowna and other B.C. cities

Rents have started to fall in some of B.C.’s priciest cities, including Kelowna.

According to Padmapper Canadian Rent Report, which analyzes rental data from hundreds of thousands of active listings across the country to create media rent cost lists, 15 cities experienced a downward monthly rent price change, five became more expensive while four remained flat.

Kelowna was among the cities that saw a drop in one-bedroom rent. In the November rental report, PadMapper found that rents were down in the Okanagan city by 3.3 per cent, settling at $1,450, making it the sixth most expensive city to rent in Canada.

While Kelowna’s rental costs improving is good news, it’s shared among areas with more stifling costs.

In Toronto, one-bedroom rent went down another 2.4 per cent to $2,000 and Vancouver one-bedroom rents fell one per cent to $1,980.

“Notably, Vancouver one-bedroom rent has not been this low since April 2017 when it was $1,940,” according to the PadMapper report.

There were also significant rent  drops in Hamilton and Regina. Meanwhile Halifax, Burnaby, Oshawa became more expensive.

Top 5 Most Expensive Markets

1. Toronto, ON saw one-bedroom rent drop 2.4 per cent last month to settle at $2,000, while two-bedrooms remained flat at $2,650. On a year-over-year basis, one-bedroom rent in this city is down nearly 15 per cent.
2. Vancouver, BC one-bedroom rent decreased one per cent to $1,980, which is the lowest point it’s been since April 2017. Two-bedroom rent fell 1.5 per cent to $2,710. Notably, two-bedroom rent in this city is down 15 per cent since this time last year.
3. Burnaby, BC one-bedroom rent grew 3.6 per cent to $1,720, while two-bedrooms fell 1.3 per cent to $2,250.
4. Victoria, BC one-bedroom rent stayed stable at $1,650, while two-bedrooms dropped 3.5 per cent to $1,910. Two-bedroom rent is up over 15 per cent since this time last year.
5. Ottawa, ON saw one-bedroom rent decrease 0.7 per cent to $1,490, while two-bedrooms remained flat at $1,790.

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