A new report on renting in Metro Vancouver shows a wide range of increases for April.
According to a report done by liv.rent, an online platform for the renting community, Metro Vancouver renters are spending more than 60 per cent of their monthly income on rent.
“This is over double the recommended 30 per cent rent-to-income ratio and reflects the mismatch between supply and demand for housing in the region,” liv.rent said in its report.
Average rates for furnished one-bedroom units in Metro Vancouver rose by $251 between March and April, with unfurnished ones rising by $39.
The new Metro Vancouver average for one-bedroom, unfurnished units is sitting at $2,376.
Downtown Vancouver is dubbed as Metro Vancouver’s most expensive neighbourhood with an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit renting at just over $2,800 a month.
The same unit in Metro Vancouver’s least expensive neighbourhood, Sunset Victoria Fraserview, is around $2,100.
The report found this year’s rental rates are mirroring last year’s, which leads Liv officials to believe rates will continue to rise into the summer months.
Since April 2023, unfurnished rates have gone up by $113.
Something Liv will be monitoring is what happens to the rental market on May 1, when B.C.’s new short-term rental regulations come into effect.
Short-term rentals, like Airbnb, will only be permitted in most cities if they’re in someone’s principal residence.
This potentially could return many rental units to the market.
Right now, according to Liv, Metro Vancouver has four of the five most expensive rental rates in cities across the country.
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