Rents in Vancouver continue to rise, with no relief in sight: report
Vancouver once again has the dubious distinction of being the most expensive city in Canada for renters, along with having the highest year-over-year rate price increase, a new report says.
The average rent in the city was $2,925 in April, up 29.9 per cent from the same time last year when it was $2,331, according to Rentals.ca.
"The average rental rates in Vancouver remained relatively constant throughout the pandemic before experiencing some significant increases in more recent months," the report says.
For a one-bedroom, the average price was $2,280 – up 13.9 per cent from April of 2021. The cost of a two-bedroom was $3,122 – an annual increase of 16.6 per cent.
In a recently-published forecast from Rentals.ca, experts said renters across Metro Vancouver are unlikely to see a break any time in 2022.
Brock Lawson, formerly the manager of rental data for British Columbia for Zonda Urban, shared his predictions with the platform. Rates will continue to rise, he said, as there is no prospect of supply keeping pace with demand.
"There is still a severe supply shortage in the region with little supply that is imminent to launch in the market,” he said, noting there are about 2,500 units of purpose-built rental planned for the coming year.
“Unfortunately, it would take several years of well-above-average rental apartment construction to shrink the current massive supply deficit in this market.”
An expected influx of immigration, the return of post-secondary students to campuses and workers to offices are all factors that will drive up competition for the relatively few units available, he added.
He also said some pandemic trends like virtual showings and online applications will persist. However, the days of landlords offering incentives to prospective tenants are decidedly done.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Suspect sought after fatal slashing in downtown Toronto
Police are searching for a suspect in a homicide investigation after a man was slashed in downtown Toronto on Sunday.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.