October 2021 Vancouver Rent Report

Last month’s sharp increase in rental prices seems to have largely held in most areas, with October seeing few significant fluctuations in price. The largest changes are in West Vancouver, where furnished units fell in price while unfurnished units rose substantially.

You can get the latest updates on the Vancouver rental market straight to your inbox when you subscribe to keep on top of the latest rent trends.

Let’s take a look now at the current rental costs and overarching trends in Metro Vancouver for October 2021. Plus, don’t forget you can download the entire report as a one-page infographic PDF below.

Jump to the following Vancouver Rent Report sections:

Average rent across Metro Vancouver

After seeing a significant jump in price last month, unfurnished one-bedroom units have once again levelled off in October. Prices have stayed nearly identical, which may signal a new baseline for the area. We’d previously guessed that the sudden jump in price was due to the usual back-to-school renting frenzy, but we’ll now have to see how this plays out over the remainder of 2021.

Month-to-month rent change

Rental prices across Metro Vancouver from September 2021 to October 2021 have remained relatively stable across the board compared to the large jumps of last month.

Though consistent in most areas, both furnished and unfurnished rentals had some interesting outliers. Unfurnished units in West Vancouver were up significantly (14.53%), while furnished units were down nearly as much (-8.06%)

Other regions of Metro Vancouver like Surrey and Coquitlam experienced practically no changes month-over-month.

Downtown Vancouver rent has cooled off slightly after the large gains made last month, both for furnished and unfurnished units.

Income-to-rent ratio

We gather data on renters’ income-to-rent ratio quarterly and our most recent data shows that renters in Vancouver who use liv.rent are paying, on average, 35.25% of their income towards rent.

While traditional financial advice would be to spend no more than 30% of your income on rent, this advice is perhaps not well suited to the realities of renting in cities like Vancouver.

Still, landlords and property managers should look to see that a tenant can reasonably afford rent compared to how much money they make as part of their tenant screening process.

Rent per square foot

Where’s the cheapest place to rent in Metro Vancouver by how much space you get? In October, the most affordable places for square footage are Surrey and Coquitlam while the most expensive is Downtown Vancouver.

Overall, rent per square foot in Metro Vancouver is $2.57 while in Toronto it’s $2.20.

Renter demographics

We’ve been growing in the “Under 25” renter group recently. Now, it has surged to constitute 40% of liv.rent users making them the largest contingent followed by people who are aged 25 to 34.

Pet-friendly rentals

We’re proud to say that liv.rent continues to be the rental platform with the most pet-friendly rentals. In October, other rental platforms had 33% of units available that were pet-friendly while on liv.rent, 39% of units were pet-friendly.

Average unfurnished vs. furnished rates

The price difference between average rent for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units is just $172. In some neighbourhoods and for some listing types, the cost of furnished units is lower than unfurnished units. This trend has been happening for several months now in Toronto and we could be seeing a similar trend starting here too.

Neighbourhood breakdown 

Since rent in Metro Vancouver varies, we’ve broken up our data by neighbourhood so you can compare the cost of one, two, and three-bedroom rates for both furnished and unfurnished units.

• Unfurnished one-bedrooms are more than $1,700 on average almost everywhere except in Surrey, Coquitlam and New Westminster.
• In South Vancouver, furnished units were on average cheaper than unfurnished ones.
• Furnished three bedrooms are the most expensive in West Vancouver.

Most expensive cities in Canada

B.C. is the most expensive place to be a renter when it comes to unfurnished one-bedroom units. Vancouver is the most expensive at $1,785, but close behind in the number three spot is Victoria at $1,675.

Meanwhile, rent in Toronto continues to hover around the $1,700 mark for the same unit.

Downloadable resources

Make Zoom calls fun and informative when you use the latest rental averages and trends as your virtual background.

Looking for the full report? Download it for free below.

Rental resources for B.C. renters

You can read these comprehensive guides for more information on renting in B.C. and using liv.rent to streamline your rental process.

• BC Residential Tenancy Agreement Explained
• Guide to BC Tenancy Forms
  
• The Complete User Guide To liv.rent For Landlords & Property Managers
• The Ultimate Renter’s Guide To Using liv.rent

Rethink The Way You Rent

Not on liv.rent yet? Experience the ease of digital applications & contracts, verified tenants & landlords, virtual tours and more – all on one platform. Sign up for free or download the app.

Subscribe to receive these monthly updates on the Vancouver rental market. Discover last month’s Rent Reports below:

September 2021 Vancouver Rent Report
September 2021 Toronto Rent Report
September 2021 Montreal Rent Report