At a glance
- Metro Vancouver rents are at their lowest level since April 2023
- The average rental price for a one-bedroom unfurnished unit in Metro Vancouver this December is $2,297/month. The last time prices were at this level was 20 months ago in April 2023 when prices were $2,263/month for a one-bedroom unfurnished unit.
- Coquitlam sees the only rent increase for one-bedroom unfurnished units this month
- Coquitlam was the only area to record a month-to-month rent increase for one-bedroom unfurnished units in Metro Vancouver this month with prices rising by (+1.18%). In contrast, West Vancouver saw the biggest price decrease with a drop of (-6.24%) followed by Richmond at (-3.86%).
- Langley now the most affordable city for rent per square foot in Metro Vancouver
- Langley has the lowest rental cost per square foot in Metro Vancouver at ($2.27/sq. ft.). Followed closely by West Vancouver ($2.42/sq. ft.) and Coquitlam ($2.71/sq. ft.) as the next most affordable areas. Vancouver ($4.04/sq. ft.) and North Vancouver ($3.50/sq. ft.) continue to rank as the most expensive.
Download The Latest Vancouver Rent Report
For the complete Vancouver rent report including new neighbourhood breakdowns, download here.
Metro Vancouver’s average rent prices have decreased this month and are still just about under year-over-year levels by $44. The Bank of Canada’s most recent announcement on October 23rd indicated that it would lower the target overnight rate to 3.75%, which has led many to believe that rent and home prices may continue to fall through the remainder of 2024 and into 2025.
We’ve published our 2024 Canada Rental Market Trend Report with an in-depth analysis of average rent prices, driving factors, and predictions for the year ahead. You can download your copy here.
Let’s look now at the current rental costs and overarching trends in Vancouver for December 2024.
Average rent across Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver’s average rent prices have decreased this December. This month, the average rent price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit dropped by $62, to a new average of $2,297. Since December 2023, Metro Vancouver’s average rate for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit has decreased by $44.
Planning on raising rent this year? B.C.’s new annual allowable rent increase limit for 2025 is 3%. Find out when and how to increase rent and ensure you comply with provincial guidelines by reading our updated Guide to B.C. Rent Increases.
>> Recommended Reading: [Updated for 2023] How Much Can Landlords Increase Rent in BC?
Month-to-month rent change
To better understand how rent prices changed in Metro Vancouver cities, let’s look at the most significant changes for both furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units this month.
Several cities saw notable changes in average rent prices this month. Looking at one-bedroom furnished units, Coquitlam (+7.59%) and Burnaby (+4.31%) saw the biggest month-to-month increases, while West Vancouver (-7.70%) had the most notable month-to-month decrease.
Unfurnished one-bedroom units showed little change this month. Coquitlam experienced the only month-to-month increase at (+1.18%), while West Vancouver saw the biggest decrease with a drop of (-6.24%) followed by Richmond (-3.86%).
Rent per square foot
Where’s the cheapest place to rent in Metro Vancouver based on how much space you get? As of December 2024, the least expensive cities for square footage are Langley ($2.27/sq. ft.), West Vancouver ($2.42/sq. ft.), and Coquitlam ($2.71/sq. ft.) while the most expensive cities for square footage are Vancouver ($4.04/sq. ft.) and North Vancouver ($3.50/sq. ft.).
Is your rental priced competitively?
Find out with a free rent estimate. Our team of rental experts will calculate your unit’s true value based on your listing details & current market trends.
Active listing data
We’ll also examine detailed statistics for currently active listings available on the market to see which property types and number of bedrooms are the most represented. For renters, these numbers show which types of units you’re most likely to encounter in the Metro Vancouver region, while for landlords, you can assess how much competition you’ll face based on the current supply.
Active listings by property type
As of December 2024, apartments were the most common rental property type, representing 70.90% of active listings on the market. Partial houses (e.g., basement suites) were the second-most rented unit type this month, at 17.33% of active listings currently available to rent.
Active listings by number of bedrooms
In terms of the number of bedrooms, we saw a more even spread across active listings on the market this December. Two-bedroom units were the most common type of listing this month at 45.97%, though one-bedroom units held a nearly equal share, representing 43.46% of all active listings on the market.
Average unfurnished vs. furnished rates
Average prices for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units in Metro Vancouver fell this month. As of December 2024, a furnished one-bedroom unit rents for more than an unfurnished one-bedroom unit by $24/month on average.
Is your rental priced competitively?
Find out with a free rent estimate. Our team of rental experts will calculate your unit’s true value based on your listing details & current market trends.
Looking for our full December 2024 Metro Vancouver Rent Report? Download your copy here to get all the latest insights, including a detailed breakdown by neighbourhood.
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 furnished and unfurnished units in different areas. Here are some highlights from our most recent findings:
- Richmond, Burnaby and Vancouver have seen prices decrease across all types of unfurnished units.
- Surrey has the cheapest rent for all types of unfurnished units in Metro Vancouver.
- Prices decreased for one-bedroom unfurnished units in all areas except Coquitlam this month.
Gain comprehensive insights about your listings with the new liv.rent Landlord listing Dashboard. Sign in to unlock live insights – find out the average rent for a comparable property, number of views your listing received and more!
Neighbourhood breakdown
We’ve broken down Vancouver into its 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. Downtown Vancouver is the city’s most expensive neighbourhood to rent in this month, with an unfurnished one-bedroom unit renting for $2,711/month on average. The same type of unit rents for an average of $2,075 in Vancouver’s cheapest neighbourhood, Sunset-Victoria Fraserview, a difference of $636/month.
We’ve added more new neighbourhoods to our monthly reports that aren’t shown in the data below. To see data on these additional neighbourhoods, statistics for furnished rentals, as well as neighbourhood breakdowns for other cities in Metro Vancouver, be sure to download your copy of our full report here.
Most expensive cities in Canada
This December, four of the country’s five most expensive cities are located in Metro Vancouver. West Vancouver is the most expensive city in the country to rent in, followed by North Vancouver, Vancouver, Markham and Burnaby.
Other rental data
These insights are exclusive to our blog and are intended to give more context to each month’s rental data. Based on data sourced directly from liv.rent, these statistics provide a more comprehensive overview of the current rental situation in Canada.
Renter demographics
On liv.rent, our renter demographics are fairly balanced across all different age groups. While most of our users are aged 25-34, there’s a good representation of renters under 25 years old, as well as a notable amount of users between 35-44.
Pet-friendly rentals
We’re proud to say that liv.rent continues to be the rental platform with the most pet-friendly rentals. This December, other rental platforms had just 21.00% of units available that were pet-friendly while on liv.rent, 53.00% of all listed units were pet-friendly.
>> Recommended Reading: The Top 8 Pet Friendly Neighbourhoods in Metro Vancouver
Downloadable resources
Download The Latest Vancouver Rent Report
For the complete Vancouver rent report including new neighbourhood breakdowns, download here.
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
Data collection methodology
Our monthly rent reports use data from our own liv.rent listings, as well as data our team manually collects from other popular listing sites – looking at available basement suites, apartments, condos, townhouses, semi-detached houses, and single-detached houses for each area.
When collecting this data, we do exclude luxury properties listed at over $5,000, as well as rooms for rent and shared accommodation. Investing in manual data collection means that we only consider the current month’s listing, since we can filter out duplicate listings and older ads that haven’t been removed.
Another key difference between our data collection methods and some government agencies like the CMHC is that we only include current asking rent prices. Many official reports will include data for entire buildings in their reports, which tends to skew numbers lower since many units are already occupied, and may be rent-controlled or rented for significantly lower than the current rates.
As we are a Canadian rental platform founded and based in Vancouver, we want to ensure that we’re providing a completely accurate depiction of the rental market in the cities we look at.
Rethink The Way You Rent
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Subscribe to receive these monthly updates on the Vancouver rental market. Discover last month’s Rent Reports below:
June 2024 Metro Vancouver Rent Report
June 2024 Toronto Rent Report
June 2024 Calgary & Edmonton Rent Report
June 2024 Montreal Rent Report
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