Two B.C. cities are in the top six of Canada's most expensive places to rent a home — and one of them is Burnaby.
According to its latest report, Rentals.ca says a one-bedroom rental averaged $1,883 in April 2022 and is the sixth-highest rate in the country.
That's a 15.24 per cent increase compared to one year ago, but a 3.88 per cent drop from April.
A two-bedroom in Burnaby was set at an average cost of $2,563 — a 5.39 per cent uptick compared to last month and 14.52 per cent from April 2021.
Cities higher than Burnaby are Etobicke, Ont., Oakville, Ont., Burlington Ont. and Toronto, Ont.
The highest in the country is Vancouver, where a one-bedroom rental comes in at $2,334, an increase of 2.37 per cent from last month and 18.12 per cent from one year ago.
A two-bedroom suite in B.C.'s largest city also skyrocketed in price at $3,324 — a 6.47 per cent increase month-over-month and 23.71 per cent uptick compared to a year ago.
"Two and three-bedroom units are seeing higher growth rates than smaller suites as tenants continue their preference for larger suites as many employees continue to work from home," the report says.
"As central banks across the globe fight inflation by increasing interest rates, some demand will shift from the ownership market to the rental market.
"Secondly, sky-high gas prices may also boost demand for transit-friendly and walkable urban locations – the same properties hit hard during the pandemic when the benefits of dense neighborhoods close to downtown offices, restaurants and entertainment became less valuable."
Rentals.ca's report suggests the province is also the most expensive to rent in. In April, an average rent price in the province was $2,347 followed by Ontario at $2,093.
Newfoundland and Labrador was the least expensive at an average of $950 per month.
