Vancouver, Burnaby top Canada's most expensive rental markets: Rentals.ca

It likely won’t come as a surprise to Vancouver residents, but the city remains Canada’s most expensive rental market, according to a report by Rentals.ca.

The report, which covered the month of June, said Vancouver topped the list, where the average one-bedroom unit was listed at $2,945 and a two-bedroom at $3,863, followed by Burnaby.

Both were well above the national average asking price of $2,042, which was a new record, as interest rate hikes and population expansion continued, according to the report.

“Typically we would see increased rental demand some time through April up to August, right around the really warm summer months,” Rentals.ca’s senior data analyst, David Aizikov, told CTV News.

As he points out, meeting those demands have been a long-standing issue for the Lower Mainland.

"With a market like Vancouver and the surrounding communities, there is a serious imbalance between the supply of available rentals and the demand posed by renters,” he said.

“Because of this serious under supply, the available units are going to be priced at a premium,” he continued.

Surrey also cracked the list, coming in as the countries 14th most expensive rental market.

While Rentals.ca did not include North Vancouver, a quick scroll through the company’s website  shows its prices are right up there with Vancouver proper.

"It's just going up and up on a monthly basis rather than an annual basis,” said Melanie McDermid, a single mother of four.

McDermid had been paying around $2,700 for a two-bedroom apartment in Lynn Valley, but she and her kids were forced out after the owners sold it.

She says they’ve been staying at a neighbours place, struggling to find something in her price range.

"I've been searching every day, the odd one will pop up in the radius I’m trying to stay within, sometimes there's just nothing, or it's just so far out of the budget I cant even consider it,” she said.

“I’m hoping I don’t have to uproot my children from their schools, their community, their daycares and their friends,”

McDermid is trying to find a three-bedroom place in the area, but finding something she can afford is proving to be a tall task.

“The prices are now more like four thousand per month,” she said.

The rise in rental budget means very little expendable income.

"There's no summer camps, there's no daycare, there's no extra spending for the kids,” said McDermid.

"It takes away from their quality of life."