Price of one bedroom rentals up nearly 15% in Kelowna

A new country-wide rent report pegs Kelowna as the seventh most expensive city in Canada for renters.

In fact, PadMapper’s April Rent Report shows that the average cost of rental units in Kelowna has surpassed the average rental prices in several major Canadian cities.

In Kelowna, the average rent in April for a one bedroom unit was $1,320 and a for two bedroom unit the average rent sits at $1,640.

According to PadMapper, those costs have soared past Calgary, where the average price of a one bedroom unit is $1,070 and $1,290 for two bedrooms.

In Ottawa, the average cost sits at $1,250 for a one bedroom unit and $1,550 for a two bedroom unit.

On the east coast, Halifax reports an average rental cost of $990 for one bedroom units and $1,270 for two bedroom units.

Year over year, the cost of a one bedroom unit in Kelowna has skyrocketed, showing a 14.8% increase when compared to prices in March 2018.

However, the cost of a two bedroom unit has actually decreased over the past year, showing a slight 0.6% drop when compared to prices in March 2018.

Even with the large increase in the price of one bedroom units over the past 12 months, Kelowna remains the cheapest of the four B.C. cities sitting in the top 10.

After being passed by Toronto, Vancouver is currently the second most expensive city for renters in Canada, with Burnaby sitting third and Victoria not far behind in fifth place.

Abbotsford, where the average price of a one bedroom unit is $950, sits at 18th and is the only other city in B.C. to make the 25 Canadian cities on the list.