The latest report on rents in Vancouver shows that rates are coming down for some tenants.
The new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says that increasing supply, sluggish job markets and declining migration are pushing rates down from last year.
According to the mid-year market report, rent for a two-bedroom purpose-built rental last year increased by about five per cent.
This year, during the same quarter, rent had decreased by five per cent.
In the secondary rental market, the numbers are similar — 2024 saw a 1.2-per cent increase and this year a five-per cent decrease.
Economists say declining immigration and increased housing supply are factors in the trend and while the rental market appears to be softening, it is not softening for everyone equally.
“We’re not seeing rents coming down on the ground,” Will Gladman with the Vancouver Tenants Union said.
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“Our members are still experiencing what you can really only call skyrocketing rents. We are seeing a bit of a softening at the higher end, but the people who are really in crisis, and this is a crisis predominantly for low-income working-class renters, those people are just not seeing the results of these kinds of, of these reported decreases.”
Data from the report shows that people locked into leases signed last year are still paying more than they might be otherwise.
In addition, the report says that despite slowing rent growth and increasing supply, rental affordability still has not improved.
Economists are warning that whatever softening of the market is happening now is just a short-term trend and without significant investment from both public and private sector investors, rental costs will rebound.
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