January 2022 Vancouver Rent Report

Following last month’s dramatic price action, rental prices in Vancouver have held their lofty highs into the new year, with average rent just $4 below its December levels.

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 Vancouver for January 2022. 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 a year of pronounced increases in rental prices across Metro Vancouver, January looks to see a continuation of these new high levels. Despite a sudden jump from $1,791 in November to $1,831 in December, rental averages have held their ground in many Metro Vancouver cities and now sit at $1,827 overall heading into the new year.

Month-to-month rent change

Rental prices across Metro Vancouver from December 2021 to January 2022 saw some huge increases in terms of average prices of furnished units. Aside from a few exceptions, rent for unfurnished units remains relatively unchanged in most communities after last month’s price action.

The average price of furnished units in Richmond have rebounded after steadily declining for a couple of months now, rising a whopping +68.40% since last month. West Vancouver and Coquitlam also saw huge increases for furnished units, gaining +33.26% and +20.00%, respectively.

In terms of unfurnished units, Surrey saw the most significant increases this month (+9.68%) while New Westminster fell -7.16%.

Prices mostly held steady in Downtown Vancouver heading into the new year, with rent for furnished units falling a minuscule -0.41%, and unfurnished units decreasing -6.11%.

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, 36.38% 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 December, the most affordable places for square footage are Surrey and West Vancouver while the most expensive is Downtown Vancouver.

Overall, the average rent per square foot in Metro Vancouver is $2.83 while in Toronto it’s $2.05.

Renter demographics

Our liv.rent renter demographics have seen a significant shift in recent months, with more and more renters from different age groups now using the platform. We’re now seeing a much more even spread, particularly with the recent influx of renters aged 35+. With that being said, the vast majority of renters that make up our community are between the ages of 25-34.

Pet-friendly rentals

We’re proud to say that liv.rent continues to be the rental platform with the most pet-friendly rentals. In January, other rental platforms had 31% 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 has grown to $269 to start off the new year. With furnished rental prices soaring once again, the gap looks to grow a bit after being neck-in-neck for months (for December, the difference was just $37).

City breakdown 

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

• Furnished one-bedroom units in Richmond have increased in price to an average of $2,425, up from just $1,440 in December – for a total $985 increase.
• In New Westminster, furnished one-bedroom units are slightly cheaper than furnished ones, at $1,433 and $1,546, respectively.
• West Vancouver now has the most expensive rent for unfurnished one-bedroom units, at $2,116 this month.

Neighbourhood breakdown

We’ve broken down Vancouver into its individual neighbourhoods for a more complete look at the city’s rental markets. For a further breakdown of neighbourhoods in municipalities and cities outside of Vancouver, be sure to download our complete Rent Report.

Let’s take a look now at some of the latest averages from Vancouver’s many unique neighbourhoods. This month, Shaughnessy is the most expensive place to rent a one-bedroom unit, at $2,423 compared to Downtown’s $2,047.

Take a look at our breakdown by neighbourhood for unfurnished units in Vancouver here. For the complete report, including furnished rentals for Vancouver neighbourhoods as well as full information for other cities in Greater Vancouver, be sure to download your copy below.

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 $1,827 this January, but Victoria has surpassed Toronto for this month by climbing all the way to an average of $1,811.

Average rent in Toronto has declined significantly this month, all the way to $1,678 putting it solidly in third for the most expensive city in Canada for renters this new year.

Downloadable resources

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

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:

December 2021 Vancouver Rent Report
December 2021 Toronto Rent Report
December 2021 Montreal Rent Report