Rental rates on a slight decline in B.C. as housing supply ramps up

by Paul Henderson 4 days ago 2 min read

Average one-bedroom asking rate in CMAs in province ranges from $2,390 in Vancouver to $1,470 in Chilliwack

Asking rental prices are dropping for two-bedroom units in most metropolitan across Canada, but one-bedrooms aren’t necessarily following, at least not yet.

The numbers are somewhat small so most renters might not have noticed the incremental trajectory in either direction.

In five out of seven census metropolitan areas (CMA) in British Columbia, asking rates for one-bedroom units crept up in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the last quarter of 2024, according to data from Statistics Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Only in Vancouver and Abbotsford-Mission did rental rates drop, in the former from $2,450 to $2,390 and the latter from $1,640 to $1,620.

In Victoria, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Kamloops, and Chilliwack, the average asking rental rate for a one-bedroom unit crept up slightly over the time period. Of those cities, the least expensive was Chilliwack at $1,470, the most expensive Victoria at $2,120.

To compare to some other Canadian centres, the average asking price for a one-bedroom rental in Toronto in the third quarter of 2025 was $2,160, in Saskatoon $1,330, and in Edmonton, $1,320.

Two-bedrooms, on the other hand, dropped in 24 out of 40 CMAs across Canada from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025.

“The decreases observed in a number of markets occurred amid slower population growth in Canada, which stood at 0.1 per cent,” according to Statistic Canada release from Dec. 2, 2025.

This represents the lowest growth rate since 2020.

“At the same time, more dwellings were added to the market. In the first three quarters of 2025, more than 148,000 dwellings were completed in Canada's metropolitan areas,” according to information accompany the CMHC data.

Of these new units added to the market, more than 64,000 were destined for the dedicated rental market, while close to 44,000 were condominiums, some of which will potentially become rentals.

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What is a CMA? A census metropolitan area, is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre with a total population of at least 100,000, of which 50,000 or more must live in the core. To be included in the CMA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the core, as measured by commuting flows derived from data on place of work from the previous Census program.

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Paul J. Henderson
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