May 2022 Metro Vancouver Rent Report

Average rent across Metro Vancouver has soared this month, up a massive $108 since our April report. This May, we’ve seen huge increases in rental prices for the majority of communities in the region, leading Metro Vancouver’s average rent all the way to $2,016 this month.

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Let’s take a look now at the current rental costs and overarching trends in Vancouver for May 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

May is looking to be a huge month for Metro Vancouver’s average rental prices, as prices have reached sky-high levels as we head into the peak rental season. This month, average rent for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit across the region has risen as much as $108 to reach an all-time-high average of $2,016 per month. This month is also significant as most of the largest price increases once again came from Vancouver itself, as well as nearby communities like Burnaby, West Vancouver and North Vancouver. We’ll dive into some more detailed statistics and potential reasons for these hugely significant shifts throughout this report.

Month-to-month rent change

Both furnished and unfurnished rental units experienced considerable volatility this month practically across the board, with significant increases in the majority of Metro Vancouver cities.

In terms of unfurnished units, Surrey (+12.25%), West Vancouver (+9.63%), Burnaby (+9.55%) and Langley (+8.37%) saw the most significant increases this month, although many other communities weren’t far behind. Only North Vancouver (-1.15%) and New Westminster (-4.26%) saw declines for unfurnished, one-bedroom units this month. In the City of Vancouver itself, the average price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit is up a huge 7.97% this month.

Furnished units were a bit more of a mixed bag this month, with some massive increases in price, matched by significant drops in other areas. West Vancouver is the most noticable among these changes, seeing a whopping +46.51% increase month-to-month. Vancouver (+12.23%), North Vancouver (+16.13%), and Burnaby (+9.26%) are also among the biggest movers this month. Elsewhere, Langley (-13.42%), Coquitlam (-12.68%), and Richmond (-10.42%) saw equally large drops in price this May.

Income-to-rent ratio

We gather data on renters’ income-to-rent ratio every month, and our most recent data shows that renters in Vancouver who use liv.rent are paying, on average, 38.09% 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 – especially as prices continue their rapid ascent.

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? This April, the least expensive cities for square footage are Surrey, West Vancouver, and Langley while the most expensive remains Vancouver itself, with Burnaby not far behind.

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 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. This April, other rental platforms had just 29.00% of units available that were pet-friendly while on liv.rent, a whopping 56.00% of units were pet-friendly.

Average unfurnished vs. furnished rates

The difference in average rent for furnished and unfurnished units is now $178 this April. At different points during the last year, furnished rentals were nearly level with unfurnished units in terms of average price – but now there’s a healthy gap in price between the two.

City breakdown 

Metro Vancouver’s rental averages vary greatly across the region, so we’ve broken up our data by municipality/city to compare the cost of one, two, and three-bedroom rates for both furnished and unfurnished units in different areas.

• West Vancouver has the most expensive unfurnished units on average, for one-, two-, and three-bedroom units..
• Surrey remains the cheapest municiaplity for unfurnished, one-bedroom rental units at an average of $1,631 per month.
• North Vancouver has the most expensive three-bedroom, furnished units at an average of $5,013 per 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 May, Arbutus has become the most costly neighbourhood in the city at $2,339, compared to Downtown Vancouver’s average of $2,289.

You can take a look at our neighbourhood breakdown 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 Metro Vancouver, be sure to download your copy below.

Most expensive cities in Canada

Vancouver remains the most expensive city in Canada to rent in terms of unfurnished one-bedroom units, with the average one-bedroom, unfurnished unit in the city going for $2,257. Average rent in Toronto is up once again, and the city is now the second-most expensive city in Canada once again. Mississauga has interestingly emerged as Canada’s third-most expensive city to rent in, this month after seeing significant price increases, and Victoria has moved to the fourth spot with an average of $1,835.

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:

April 2022 Vancouver Rent Report
April 2022 Toronto Rent Report
April 2022 Montreal Rent Report