{"id":924769,"date":"2026-10-08T02:54:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T02:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/924769\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T02:54:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T02:54:25","slug":"average-asking-rent-down-2-9-in-b-c-in-september-marking-2-years-of-decreases-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/924769\/","title":{"rendered":"Average asking rent down 2.9% in B.C. in September, marking 2 years of decreases: report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/a\/assets\/texttospeech.svg\" alt=\"Text to Speech Icon\" width=\"44\" height=\"44\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n<p>The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">The average asking price for a rental unit in Canada in September was $2,034, down 4.2 per cent compared with a year ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">A monthly <a class=\"link-_o8iA html-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/rentals.ca\/national-rent-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">report<\/a> from Rentals.ca and Urbanation said the figures mark two full years of annual declines, the longest downturn the Canadian rental market has experienced in recent history. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">Average asking rent prices in September were down 7.3 per cent over the past two years, and 9.2 per cent below the peak of $2,202 in May 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">The report also highlighted figures from Statistics Canada that show average weekly earnings have risen 19.4 per cent over the past five years, signifying a general improvement in rental affordability.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH | Why some GTA tenants are falling behind on rent:<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791428064_845_default.jpg\"  alt=\"\" class=\"thumbnail\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"video-item-title\">More GTA tenants are falling behind on rent. Here&#8217;s why<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">Rents edged slightly lower on a monthly basis, down by $1 compared with $2,035 in August, a second consecutive monthly decrease. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">The report said this is part of a typical seasonal pattern where demand rises in the spring and summer and begins to ease in the fall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">Across the provinces, average rents for all property segments were down 4.8 per cent year-over-year in Ontario, 2.9 per cent in B.C., 2.6 per cent in Alberta and 1.7 per cent in Quebec. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">In contrast, other provinces saw increases, including 1.4 per cent rises in both Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">On a per-square-foot basis, average asking rents in Canada&#8217;s six largest markets came in at $2.48, falling 1.5 per cent from September 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">Asking rents for purpose-built apartments fell 2.7 per cent on an annual basis to an average of $2,036 in September, while asking rents for condominium apartments decreased 7.8 per cent to $2,052. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">Rental prices for purpose-built apartments saw the smallest annual decline across all property types.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">Condo rents saw the steepest declines, led by a 9.6 per cent drop in studio condo rents. Other secondary market units like houses and townhomes fell 7.4 per cent year-over-year to $2,016.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">The report said rental markets in Toronto and Vancouver are showing signs of stability though after rents hit their lowest level in five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>WATCH | Report finds falling Vancouver rents:<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791428065_361_default.jpg\"  alt=\"\" class=\"thumbnail\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"video-item-title\">Average asking rent in Vancouver dips in the past year, report finds<\/p>\n<p>The average asking rent in Vancouver is down 8.2 per cent in the past year, according to a new report from Rentals.ca. As Meera Bains reports, the B.C. government has taken some credit but others say it&#8217;s not that simple.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">&#8220;Our research shows supply has been the main driver of this correction, and in key markets like Toronto and Vancouver, new supply is moving past its peak,&#8221; Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">&#8220;Rents in both cities have trended higher over the past six months, and annual declines have narrowed significantly as renters come off the sidelines. Where Toronto and Vancouver go, the rest of the country follows.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">A few factors support an &#8220;upcoming return to positive rent growth&#8221; in those cities, the report said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">This includes the fact that construction inventory has peaked, data revisions show a modest increase in populations, and both cities are relatively less exposed to tariffs across their respective labour markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-b3GxD html-paragraph\">&#8220;In the near term, more affordable rents and move-in incentives are releasing pent-up demand from delayed household formation, as higher rents in previous years led to prospective renters living with parents or roommates for longer,&#8221; the report said.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":924770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-924769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/924770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}