Cost of rent falls again in Kelowna, Kamloops

The price of renting in both Kelowna and Kamloops fell once again in November, with both cities following a national trend of declining rents.

According to the National Rent Report from rentals.ca and Urbanation rent in the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in Kelowna dropped by almost 4% compared with one year earlier, and in Kamloops by more than 5%.

The National Rent Report says renting a one-bedroom place in Kelowna costs $1,814 and in Kamloops $1,823. The price in Kelowna is down 3.7% since this time last year, and in Kamloops it’s down 5.4%.

The price for a two-bedroom rental in Kelowna is $2,280, and in Kamloops it’s $2,051.

The report says the price of renting a purpose-built condo and apartment has dropped in Kelowna by 8.4% in the last year.

BC has seen the sharpest rate of decline among the regions measured in Canada.

Nationwide, rents declined by more than 3%, the lowest level since June 2023 and on average $100 below the level from two years ago.

The report says it’s the 14th month in a row where the cost of rent fell.

“Despite declines recorded over the past two and a half years, average rents remained 3.4%, $68 per month, higher than three years ago,” the report states.

The report puts Kelowna in 22nd place and Kamloops in 34th as the most expensive places to rent in Canada.

While the report shows that rents are decreasing, both Kelowna and Kamloops are still pricey places to live, compared to the wages.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary in Kelowna is $45,330, just under $22 an hour. In Kamloops, it’s $21 an hour. A single person renting a one-bedroom apartment would be spending around 60% of their take-home wage on rent.

North Vancouver is the priciest with a one-bedroom going for just shy of $2,500, while St. John’s comes in 60th place with a one-bedroom condo going for $1,043.

Nationally, including all property types, the average rent in Canada is $2,074, a significant increase from November 2019 when the average price was $1,831.

Across all housing types, British Columbia saw the steepest decline in rent over the last year, with an almost 7% decrease. All other provinces saw prices decrease, with the exception of Saskatchewan, which saw an almost four per cent increase.

BC remains the priciest place to rent, followed by Nova Scotia and Ontario.