Rents rise in six Metro Vancouver cities in August: report

The average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom in Metro Vancouver was $2,098 in August, up from $2,089 in July, according to liv.rent’s latest regional report.

Rents rose in at least some categories in six of the nine cities examined: Vancouver, Burnaby, Langley, West Vancouver, North Vancouver and Coquitlam. West Vancouver’s furnished one-bedroom rate rose by nearly four per cent, while North Vancouver’s unfurnished one-bedroom rate rose 3.59 per cent.

Burnaby was the only city where every category tracked by liv.rent increased. Its largest increase was for furnished three-bedroom apartments, which rose 3.74 per cent from $3,046 to $3,190.

Despite the monthly increase, the regional average for an unfurnished one-bedroom remained below $2,206 a year earlier and $2,378 two years earlier. Liv.rent attributed the longer-term decline to slower population growth as temporary residents fell, lower demand from new renters and record purpose-built rental completions.