Metro Vancouver rent prices have dropped year over year for the third consecutive month.
The price for a one-bedroom, unfurnished rental unit dropped to $2,370 this September, down by $8 from $2,378 in August, according to the latest report from liv.rent.
September's prices are $68 cheaper than in 2023. August pricing followed a similar year-over-year downward trend, dropping by $28.
Liv.rent notes that the trend of declining average prices reflects "the anticipated fall in rent prices after the Bank of Canada announced lowering interest rate with another decrease in overnight rates expected soon."
All five of Canada's most expensive cities are in Metro Vancouver this September. West Vancouver is the most expensive city in the country to rent in, followed by North Vancouver, Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby.
Metro Vancouver apartments for rent: Average rent by listing type
West Vancouver remains the most expensive city to rent in in the Lower Mainland this September. A newly listed, one-bedroom, unfurnished unit costs an average of $2,765, up $17 from 2,748 in August (see slide three).
North Vancouver has the second-priciest market, with one-bedroom, unfurnished units averaging for $2,665 this month. Prices are down from August when they averaged slightly higher at $2,680.
Vancouver's prices averaged $2,530 this month, down from $2,590 in August.
Richmond was the fourth most expensive city for renters, with prices averaging $2,433, up slightly from $2,427 in August.
Burnaby rounded out the top five most expensive markets, with its units averaging $2,385 this September.
On the other end of the spectrum, Surrey had the cheapest one-bedroom units, averaging $1,958 this month.
Langley experienced significant price shifts this September, with one-bedroom furnished units seeing a sharp month-over-month decline of (-7.59 per cent) at $1,881, while unfurnished one-bedroom units posted the highest increase of (+1.86 per cent) at $2,105 (see slide four).
Vancouver rent by neighbourhood in September
Vancouver's most expensive neighbourhood is West Point Grey/UBC, with a newly listed, unfurnished one-bedroom unit renting for $2,986 (see slide five).
Downtown Vancouver is the second priciest neighbourhood to rent in, with one-bedroom units averaging $2,845.
Fairview had the third priciest market, with its units averaging several hundred dollars less, at $2,549.
The same type of unit rents for an average of $2,141 in Vancouver’s cheapest neighbourhood, Sunset-Victoria Fraserview.
