Rents across British Columbia fell 5.3 per cent in June compared with a year earlier, according to the latest report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.
The average asking rent for all property types was $2,377 last month.
Studio rents saw the sharpest year-over-year declines, down 6.3 per cent to $1,846.
Compared to two years ago, B.C.’s average asking rent was down eight per cent.
In North Vancouver, consistently Canada’s most expensive market for renters, average rent for a one-bedroom was up 0.5 per cent, to $2,457.
Vancouver, Burnaby, Victoria, Nanaimo and Kelowna also saw month-over-month increases, though average rents declined in other key markets, including Coquitlam, Langley and Surrey.
Nova Scotia topped B.C. for a second month as the most expensive province for apartment and condo rents. The report said that’s mainly due to Nova Scotia’s higher concentration of newer projects and larger units.
Apartment and condo rents in B.C. fell 5.3 per cent in the past year to $2,347, the largest decline in the country.
Across Canada, the average asking rent for all property types was $2,033, down 4.3 per cent from June 2025. However, rents rose 0.2 per cent from May, marking the third consecutive monthly increase as the rental market picked up during the warmer months of the year.
In a statement Thursday, B.C. Housing Minister Christine Boyle pointed to the FIFA World Cup events in Vancouver, comparing this year’s rental market to when the city hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“Both world-class events have been a huge success for British Columbia, and they also show how much this province has changed since then,” said Boyle. “Unlike during the 2010 Olympics, people aren’t lined up around the block in Metro Vancouver to compete for an apartment. Now, we see renters able to negotiate their rent down because similar units in their building are going for less, or move to newer apartments at better prices.”
“We know we need to keep working hard to ensure we can continue to bring down the cost to deliver more homes for people throughout this province to see these trends continue,” she said.
