The good news: Coquitlam is not among Canada's most expensive communities for rental housing.
However, the local market is still seeing significant yearly increases, especially between 2020 and 2021 resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Rentals.ca, the price of a one-bedroom unit in Coquitlam jumped by nine per cent in November to an average of $1,685 per month.
For a place with two bedrooms, it hiked by six per cent in the same month to $2,181.
Rentals.ca — a platform for Canadians to post available housing units — did not list Coquitlam or any other Tri-City community in its top-35 National Rent Report for December 2021.
Vancouver ranks at the top of the most expensive rentals in Canada.
The data is based on the average rent price of vacant one-bedroom units:
- One-bedroom: $2,132
- Increase of 7.7 per cent in the last year
- Two-bedroom: $2,998
- Increase of 10.7 per cent in the last year
By comparison to the rest of the country, Rentals.ca says Canadian properties averaged $1,817 in monthly rent — a year-over-year uptick of 3.6 per cent.
"The forecast prepared by Bullpen and Rentals.ca for 2022 sees continued growth in the rental market following the unprecedented declines experienced from April 2020 to April 2021," explains Bullpen Research and Consulting president Ben Myers in a statement to the Tri-City News.
Bullpen was hired to work alongside Rentals.ca to compile its National Rent Report.
"Despite the continued upward trend next year, Toronto, Mississauga, Montreal and Calgary are expected to finish next year below their peak rent levels from late 2019 and early 2020."
After Vancouver, Burnaby is the next highest-ranked B.C. community at number 11.
For December 2021, Rentals.ca says the current average price of a two-bedroom unit in the neighbouring municipality is $2,414, which is an increase of 9.83 per cent from last year.
A one-bedroom in Burnaby dropped nearly 0.5 per cent to $1,696 monthly.
- with a file from Jess Balzer, Burnaby NOW
