Rental rates drop as pandemic hits home

Price of 2-bedroom averages $1,829

The rent for an average two-bedroom home in Kelowna has fallen 14% in the past year, a survey of listings suggests.

Monthly rent for a typical two-bedroom property last month was $1,829, down from $2,091 in April 2019.

But last month’s average rent in Kelowna was down only $18 from March 2020, suggesting little impact locally so far on rental housing costs from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nationally, rents were down in most major Canadian cities, suggesting greater supply and less demand as people were more likely to stay put than move during the pandemic.

“With the gradual opening of the economy, this may be the low point for rental rates in some time if tenants feel comfortable enough to move,” Matt Danison, chief executive officer of Rentals.ca, said in a release.

Rents for apartments and condos were down in 15 of 17 cities, the exceptions being Montreal and Regina.

Between March and April 2020, rents fell most sharply in Alberta, down almost 6%. Given the ongoing pandemic, Rentals.ca’s survey says prospective renters are now more likely to care about a prospective new residence’s proximity to grocery stores than they were earlier in the year.

“Since COVID-19, renters’ lifestyle demands have changed and have not rebounded to pre-COVID 19 times; we see renters are looking to live in more cycling- and pedestrian-friendly areas, with better access to groceries and better access to schools,” Vincent-Charles Hodder of Local Logic, a firm that assisted in the production of the survey, said in the release.