March 2024 Metro Vancouver Rent Report

At a glance

• Coquitlam saw the largest year-over-year rent increase in Metro Vancouver
  • Average rates for furnished one-bedroom units in Coquitlam have increased by +19.80% since March 2023 ($1,929 vs. $2,304). Coquitlam has also seen the largest year-over-year increase in search volume for searches related to renting in the city (+26%)
• Metro Vancouver renters are spending less on rent than this time last year
  • Compared to March 2023, Metro Vancouver renters are spending an average of 34.38% of their monthly income on rent vs. 38.04% last year. This is despite average rent prices increasing for both furnished (+0.36%) and unfurnished (+5.68%) one-bedroom units
• Average rent prices in Metro Vancouver are showing clear signs of slowing compared to 2023
  • During 2023, rates for furnished one-bedroom units in the region increased by an average of +18.1% year-over-year, while so far in 2024 prices have increased by an average of +4.1% from the previous year. However, compared to the city of Toronto (-6.9%), the city of Vancouver has still seen a +0.5% year-over-year increase in average rent prices for furnished one-bedroom units

This March, Metro Vancouver’s average rent prices have decreased following two consecutive month-to-month increases. With this recent change, the region’s rental rates have hit their lowest point since the start of the year. The Bank of Canada announced on March 6th that it would once again maintain the target overnight rate, which could cause Metro Vancouver’s rental rates to continue to fluctuate throughout 2024.

We’ve published our 2024 Canada Rental Market Trend Report with in-depth analysis of average rent prices, driving factors, and predictions for the year ahead. You can download your copy here.

Let’s take a look now at the current rental costs and overarching trends in Vancouver for March 2024.

Average rent across Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver’s average rent prices have fallen this March after beginning 2024 with back-to-back increases. This month, the average rent price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit dropped by $42, to a new average of $2,337. Since March 2023, Metro Vancouver’s average rate for a one-bedroom, unfurnished unit has increased by $129.

Planning on raising rent this year? B.C.’s annual allowable rent increase limit for 2024 is 3.5%. Find out when and how you can increase rent and ensure you’re complying with provincial guidelines by reading our updated Guide to B.C. Rent Increases.

Month-to-month rent change

To get a better sense of how rent prices changed in Metro Vancouver cities, let’s break down the most significant changes for both furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units this month.

Multiple cities saw notable changes in average rent price this month. Looking at one-bedroom unfurnished units, Langley (+2.50%) and Coquitlam (+2.37%) saw the largest month-to-month increases, while West Vancouver (-4.89%), North Vancouver (-4.48%), Surrey (-4.45%), and Vancouver (-4.20%) all recorded noteworthy month-to-month decreases.

Rates for furnished one-bedroom units also saw quite a few changes this March. The largest increases took place in North Vancouver (+7.92%) and Surrey (+4.58%), while the largest decreases in price were observed in New Westminster (-8.80%), Langley (-5.62%), and Richmond (-5.61%).

Rent per square foot

Where’s the cheapest place to rent in Metro Vancouver for how much space you get? As of March 2024, the least expensive cities for square footage are West Vancouver, Coquitlam, and Surrey, while the most expensive cities for square footage are Vancouver, New Westminster, and North Vancouver.

Active listing data

We’ll also now 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

For March 2024, the most common rental property type by far was apartments, representing 84.46% of active listings on the market. Partial houses (e.g. basement suites) were the second-most rented unit type this month, at 8.12% 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 March. Two-bedroom units were the most common type of listing this month at 47.23%, though one-bedroom units still represented 41.71% of all active listings on the market.

Average unfurnished vs. furnished rates

Average prices for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units both fell across Metro Vancouver this month. As of March 2024, unfurnished one-bedroom units are, on average, $159 less expensive than furnished one-bedroom units. This indicates that landlords who choose to rent their units furnished will typically be able to charge more for rent.

Looking for our full March 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:

• North Vancouver had the highest average rent prices for one- and three-bedroom unfurnished units this March, as well as the most expensive one-, two- and three-bedroom furnished units.
• Average rent prices rose for one-, two-, and three-bedroom unfurnished units in New Westminster.
• Langley had the lowest average rent prices for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units.

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. Downtown Vancouver is the city’s most expensive neighbourhood to rent in this month, with an unfurnished one-bedroom unit renting for $2,815/month on average. The same type of unit rents for an average of $2,077 in Vancouver’s cheapest neighbourhood, Hastings-Sunrise.

We’ve recently 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 March, four out of five of the country’s most expensive cities are located in Metro Vancouver. North Vancouver is the most expensive city in the country to rent in, while West Vancouver, Vancouver, and Richmond also make the list. Markham is the lone GTA city in the top five, with an average monthly rent price of $2,434 for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit.

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.

Income-to-rent ratio

Each month, we gather data on renters’ income-to-rent ratio and our most recent data shows that renters in Vancouver who use liv.rent are paying, on average, 34.38% of their income towards rent. This may be above the recommended amount but isn’t an anomaly given the past few months’ average rental rates.

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 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.

Renter demographics

On liv.rent, our renter demographics are fairly balanced across all different age groups. While many of our users are aged 25-34, there’s a good representation of renters under 25, as well as a notable amount of users over 35 years of age.

Pet-friendly rentals

We’re proud to say that liv.rent continues to be the rental platform with the most pet-friendly rentals. This March, other rental platforms have just 20.00% of units available that were pet-friendly while on liv.rent, 52.00% of all listed units were pet-friendly.

Downloadable resources

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

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

February 2024 Metro Vancouver Rent Report
February 2024 Toronto Rent Report
February 2024 Calgary & Edmonton Rent Report
February 2024 Montreal Rent Report