Rent for two-bedroom apartments tumbles 15 per cent over two months

The cost to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver dropped by more than 15 per cent last month, according to the latest data from Rentals.ca.

In its monthly national report, the house-hunting website said average rents were down in April over March in most major Canadian cities — evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the rental market.

Month over month, average rental costs nationwide remain unchanged. But costs fell sharply in many prime, downtown markets — areas that had plenty of Airbnb activity until travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders hit the short-term rental industry hard. To that end, Rentals.ca has seen an influx in furnished apartment listings.

Fifteen per cent of all B.C. listings on the site were furnished last month.

“When looking at rental apartments and condo apartments only, monthly average rental rates declined by six per cent or more in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Edmonton,” Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research and Consulting, said in a news release.

Average rents in Canada’s two biggest markets, Toronto and Vancouver, declined by six per cent and 6.8 per cent month over month, respectively. One-bedroom apartments rents decreased by 5.6 per cent in Vancouver, while two-bedroom units saw a decrease of 15.8 per cent, the largest decline in any Canadian rental market.

This time last year, the average asking price for a two-bedroom suite in Vancouver was the highest in the country at $2,915, and climbing. It surpassed $3,000 by the end of the summer and has hovered there ever since. But that number fell last month to $2,478, which places the city third in the nation.

When it comes to one-bedroom rental prices, Vancouver has fallen out of the top five — the monthly average of $1,894 is now ranked sixth in the country.