Skip to content

Kelowna has Canada’s 7th most expensive rental market: report

PadMapper’s monthly rent report shows Kelowna residents pay, on average, $1,480 for a one-bedroom unit
25161984_web1_210520-KCN-rental-rates_1
(Contributed/PadMapper)

Kelowna is home to Canada’s seventh most expensive rental market, according to a new rent report.

PadMapper’s monthly Canadian Rent Report for May 2021 shows Kelowna residents pay, on average, $1,480 for a one-bedroom and $1,780 for a two-bedroom apartment.

Both numbers are a very slight decrease — less than a single percentage point — from last month when Kelowna had Canada’s sixth most expensive rental market. But that trend is not the norm across the country.

PadMapper states two-thirds of Canada’s top 24 most populous metro areas saw rents increase from April to May. Sixteen cities saw rent prices go up, three remained flat and five had decreasing rates.

“This shift may be signalling a start to the reversal of the 2020 rental market trends,” reads PadMapper’s report.

“More Canadians may be considering moving back to expensive markets, to take advantage of low prices or in preparation of life returning to what it was like pre-pandemic as more vaccines become available, which would increase prices after a year of historic decreases. As we head into the hot moving season of the summer and fall months, expensive markets especially are likely to see rent price growth as demand is likely to pick up.”

One-bedroom prices in Kelowna are up 3.5 per cent from last year. Two-bedrooms remain similar in price to last year with a 0.6 per cent decrease in price.

Three B.C. cities sat above Kelowna in the rental price — Victoria at number five, Burnaby at number four and Vancouver tops the list with a $1,930 median price for a one-bedroom and $2,670 for a two-bedroom.

READ MORE: Okanagan real estate boom keeps escalating

READ MORE: COVID-19: Vaccination low, test positivity rate high in Rutland, Lake Country

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com


@michaelrdrguez
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.