Kelowna rental report shows hefty jump in rental rates
As if it’s not expensive enough living on your own, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Kelowna has jumped significantly in just one year.
In it’s monthly rental report, Zumper.com says the median rental price for a one bedroom is up 15.8 per cent since the same month in 2022 and up 3.1 per cent since just last month.
That translates into $1,980 in real world money with Kelowna being the fifth most expensive rental market in the country, the report says.
At just $270 more, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Central Okanagan city almost makes it worth the trials and tribulations of having a roommate.
Zumper says the two-bedroom median rent is $2,250 a month, which is actually down almost a full percentage point since last month, although its still up just shy of 10 per cent year over year.
Unchanged is Kelowna’s position on the overall rental rankings, still the fifth most expensive rental market in Canada and the fourth most expensive market in B.C. behind only Vancouver, Toronto, Burnaby and Victoria.
Among the top five, median rent in Toronto is up an eye-popping 25 per cent for a onebedroom to $2,300 a month and 24.5 per cent to $2,950 for two bedrooms since January last year.
Burnaby saw one-bedroom rents go up 14.5 per cent to $2,290 and two-bedroom up a staggering 24.4 per cent to $3,110.
Vancouver remains at the top of the expensive rentals list with a median one-bedroom price of $2,500 and a two-bedroom price of $3,500, Zumper reports.
Further down the list, inflation has left scorch marks on rental prices in several communities.
Most dramatic rise has been London, Ontario’s one-bedroom median rent, which shot up 30.2 per cent to $1,680 while a twobedroom unit is up 39.9 per cent to $2,140.
Calgary has seen one-bedroom units jump 36.4 per cent to a median price of $1,610 including almost four per cent last month alone. A two-bedroom unit is down slightly from last month but is still up year-over-year by 29.7 per cent at $1,790.