The B.C. government says rental unit prices have dropped 12.5 per cent since August 2023. The decline in asking price has continued for 29 consecutive months. The province says renters are saving an average of $333 per month, which adds up to nearly $4,000 per year. When narrowing the rental unit data down to strictly apartments and condos, the province says average rental asking prices have dropped $650 per month in the same time period, marking a 20 per cent drop-off. In a news release, B.C. Premier David Eby boasted that the province is “leading the country in results” when it comes to tackling issues revolving around the rental housing market. “Rent prices are down, rental home construction is up, and we’re building faster by removing roadblocks to construction. There’s more to do,” he said. Declining rental prices have gone hand-in-hand with rising vacancy rates, which the province says have risen from 0.9 per cent in 2023 to 3.7 per cent today. Eby touted the improving affordability for renters while speaking at an under-construction 820-unit rental development in Burnaby Tuesday, noting that continued construction of “purpose-built” rental units is essential to maintain the downward pressure on prices. In contrast, 2026 has seen some housing developments stalled, the topic notably being scrutinized in April, when West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager told CTV News, “the market is dead” -- pointing at listed and unsold condos filling the real estate market. This is an issue the province says it is working against by imposing a vacancy tax on empty units. “Purpose-built” rentals have been a strategy as well, as building renter-bound units eliminates the process of a buyer purchasing the unit and listing it for a rental price of their choosing. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kevin Charach.
