Some rare good news for people looking to rent a home in Metro Vancouver: the average rent decreased slightly in some categories.
That's when comparing rental rates month-to-month across the whole metro area, according to Liv.Rent's monthly report.
"Metro Vancouver’s average rent prices continue to show signs of slowing heading into the busy summer renting season," states the report from the rental platform. "This May, prices have dipped slightly and have now returned to January levels."
Rental costs in the region have been back and forth so far throughout 2024, which is common, but the net result is a moderate increase when compared to previous periods. May 2024's average rent for a newly-listed unfurnished one-bedroom apartment is only $49 above that of May 2023.
Currently, the average monthly rent across the region for a one-bedroom unfurnished apartment is $2,367, while a furnished one is $2,523.
What's the case in each city?
With more than two dozen cities in Metro Vancouver, patterns can be different for different areas.
"Looking at one-bedroom unfurnished units, New Westminster (+2.11%) and Langley (+1.46%) saw the largest month-to-month increases," reads the report. "While Richmond (-3.79%), Coquitlam (-1.63%) and Burnaby (-1.59%) each had month-to-month decreases."
While rates bumped up and down in different communities, West Vancouver remained the priciest place to rent; while unfurnished one-bedroom apartments fell to $2,770, the same but with two bedrooms rose to nearly $3,700.
North Vancouver was just behind, with one-bedroom unfurnished apartments new to the rental market going for $2,717 and Vancouver was third with the average for the same moving up to $2,572.
Meanwhile, Langley remained below the $2,000 level, ticking up to $1,983. That's where to find the cheapest rental housing in the Metro Vancouver area for one-bedroom homes; it's the only city under $2,000. For two- and three-bedroom places, Surrey is slightly cheaper for those trying to find a place to live.
The stats are similar for furnished apartments, though more cities recorded decreases in average rents, and in Langley, the average for a furnished apartment is actually $63 below that for an unfurnished one. That juxtaposition is true for Surrey as well, which drops more than $100 to $1,927.
"Since January 2024, the average monthly rent price for a one-bedroom unfurnished unit remains unchanged while rates for furnished one-bedroom units are up +1.41%," notes the report writers.
"With short-term rental regulations recently coming into effect on May 1, this trend could reverse as an increased supply of furnished units in particular hits the market."
