Renting in New Westminster is going to cost potential buyers more money, according to a new national rankings report.
Rentals.ca's September 2023 data shows the city currently hosts an average monthly rent of $2,626 for purpose-built and condo apartments.
That's 11th among Canada's top 25 mid-sized communities.
It's also the fifth most expensive currently in B.C. behind North Vancouver ($3,481), Burnaby ($3,062), Coquitlam ($2,976) and Richmond ($2,940).
The report also suggests that New West's latest monthly uptick of 21.8 per cent as the fourth-highest from September across the country and the largest jump among B.C. mid-sized cities.
"While rent inflation in Canada remained exceptionally strong in September, most major markets experienced a slower annual rate of rent growth compared to recent months," said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation, in a statement on Monday, Oct. 16.
In fact, according to Rentals.ca., it costs the same, $3,411 on average, to buy a two-bedroom rental in neighbouring Burnaby as it does on Toronto.
Vancouver maintains its title as the most expensive city to rent in Canada:
- $2,976 for one-bedroom units
- $3,908 for two-bedroom units
Average asking rents in B.C. were the highest among all provinces at $2,656, Rentals.ca's report states.
Nationally, the average cost for a one-bedroom suite is $1,889 and $2,342 for a two-bedroom.
Meanwhile, some New Westminster real estate saw a dip in prices last month.
The benchmark price for New West residential properties hit $840,500 in September, a decrease of nearly one per cent from August.
As well, $1,538,600 was the median for locally listed single family detached homes (-3.1 per cent), $971,900 for a townhouse (+1.3 per cent) and $661,900 for an apartment (+0.4 per cent).
Metro Vancouver sales totalled 1,926 in September, a 13.2 per cent increase from the 1,701 sales recorded in September 2022, but 26.3 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.
