Affordable Housing – RentSeeker Blog

Metro Vancouver Rental Guide 2025: Vancouver vs Burnaby vs Surrey – Neighborhood Price Analysis

RentSeeker Team — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 16:13:00 +0000

Bottom Line Up Front: Surrey offers the most affordable rental options in Metro Vancouver, with average one-bedroom rents around $1,846, while Vancouver remains the most expensive at $2,421, and Burnaby sits in the middle at $2,289. All three cities have seen rental prices decline year-over-year, creating opportunities for renters in 2025.

Market Overview: The State of Metro Vancouver Rentals in 2025

The Metro Vancouver rental market has undergone significant changes in 2025, with rental prices declining across the region for the second consecutive year. The average rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Metro Vancouver stands at approximately $2,232 as of July 2025, representing a $129 decrease year-over-year.

Key Market Factors Driving 2025 Trends:

Bank of Canada’s target overnight rate maintained at 2.75%
New restrictions on short-term rentals implemented in May 2024, increasing long-term rental supply
Low vacancy rates averaging 0.9% in 2023, though showing signs of improvement
Increased rental construction completion adding to supply

Looking for apartments for rent in Canada? This comprehensive guide will help you navigate the three major Metro Vancouver rental markets.

Vancouver: The Premium Market

Current Rental Prices (July 2025)

Vancouver remains Metro Vancouver’s most expensive rental market, though prices have moderated from their peaks:

Average Monthly Rents:

One-bedroom unfurnished: $2,421 (down from $2,436 in June)
Two-bedroom unfurnished: $3,400+ (estimated based on market data)
Studio apartments: $1,900-$2,200

Vancouver rounded out the top three priciest places, with prices for its one-bedroom units dropping from $2,436 in June to $2,421 in July. Despite the decline, Vancouver consistently ranks among Canada’s top five most expensive rental markets.

Best Value Neighborhoods in Vancouver

Hastings-Sunrise emerges as Vancouver’s most budget-friendly option:

One-bedroom unfurnished units average $1,940
Good transit connections via SkyTrain
Growing arts and culture scene
Access to Burnaby Heights amenities

Sunset-Victoria Fraserview offers additional savings:

Average rents of $1,976 for one-bedroom units, creating a $806/month difference compared to Downtown Vancouver’s $2,782
Family-friendly neighborhood with parks
More affordable than central Vancouver locations

Most Expensive Areas to Avoid:

Downtown Vancouver: $2,782/month for one-bedroom unfurnished
West End: Premium waterfront pricing
Yaletown: Luxury building concentrations

Why Choose Vancouver

Pros:

Extensive public transit network (SkyTrain, bus rapid transit)
Walkable neighborhoods with urban amenities
Cultural attractions, dining, and entertainment
Proximity to beaches and mountains
Major employment centers

Cons:

Highest rental costs in the region
Limited parking and high parking fees
Higher cost of living overall
Competitive rental market

Income Requirements: With average rents of C$2,304/month, you’ll want to make about C$7,680 per month or C$92,160 per year to comfortably afford Vancouver rentals.

Burnaby: The Middle Ground

Current Rental Prices (July 2025)

Burnaby provides a compelling middle option between Vancouver’s premium pricing and Surrey’s budget-friendly rates:

Average Monthly Rents:

One-bedroom unfurnished: $2,289 (up from $2,249 in June)
Two-bedroom unfurnished: $2,900-$3,200
Three-bedroom unfurnished: $3,500+

Rentals.ca says Burnaby BC’s rental price average still make it the second most expensive rental market in Canada, though rental prices are continuing to fall, with one-bedroom rentals averaging $2,367 in February, a 3.6% drop compared to February 2024.

Market Dynamics in Burnaby

Recent Trends:

Average rent decreased by 2.5% year-over-year, averaging out to C$51 less per month
Burnaby experienced a 9.5% annual decline in apartment rents
Strong rental supply from new high-rise developments

Best Value Areas:

Metrotown: Central location with SkyTrain access, though premium pricing
Brentwood: Growing area with new developments
Edmonds: More affordable with good transit connections
Capitol Hill: Residential feel with reasonable pricing

Why Choose Burnaby

Pros:

Excellent value proposition with rent ranging from C$1,875 to C$3,240 depending on location and size
Multiple SkyTrain stations throughout the city
Major shopping centers (Metrotown, Brentwood)
Simon Fraser University campus
Balance of urban amenities and suburban feel
Shorter commute to Vancouver than Surrey

Cons:

Still significantly more expensive than Surrey
Heavy traffic on major arteries
Some areas lack walkability
Limited nightlife compared to Vancouver

Income Requirements: With average rent at C$2,028, you’ll want to make about C$6,760 per month or C$81,120 per year.

Surrey: The Affordable Choice

Current Rental Prices (July 2025)

Surrey stands out as Metro Vancouver’s most affordable major rental market:

Average Monthly Rents:

One-bedroom unfurnished: $1,846
Two-bedroom unfurnished: $2,311
Three-bedroom unfurnished: $3,089

Surrey continues to offer the most affordable rent for all types of unfurnished units, with one-bedroom units averaging $1,846, two-bedroom units averaging $2,311, and three-bedroom units averaging $3,089.

Best Neighborhoods for Value

Newton – The Most Affordable:

Rent averaging $1,731 for one-bedroom units
Growing Indo-Canadian community
Improving amenities and safety

Fleetwood – Second Most Affordable:

Rents at $1,740 for one-bedroom units
Fleetwood’s rental prices averaged under $1,800, at $1,777 in July
Family-oriented neighborhood
Good schools and parks

Guildford – Balance of Affordability and Amenities:

Prices averaging $1,768 for one-bedroom units
Major shopping center (Guildford Town Centre)
SkyTrain extension coming (projected completion)

Surrey City Centre – Urban Living:

Prices averaged $1,856
High-rise development hub
Transit-oriented community
Growing business district

South Surrey – Premium Surrey:

Prices at $2,014
Known for luxury homes, excellent schools, and family-friendly environment
Close to White Rock beach
Higher-end but still affordable compared to Vancouver/Burnaby

Market Performance

In the past year, rent has decreased by 5.8%, which averages out to C$101 less per month. Surrey shows a significant 16% decrease compared to the previous year, making it an excellent time for renters to find deals.

Why Choose Surrey

Pros:

Most affordable option with rent ranging from C$1,689 to C$2,937
Rapid transit expansion (SkyTrain extensions)
Growing population and improving amenities
Family-friendly communities
More space for your money
Diverse cultural communities
Investment opportunities as a prime location for rental properties

Cons:

Longer commute to Vancouver core
Some areas still developing urban amenities
Car dependency in many neighborhoods
Perception issues (though rapidly improving)

Income Requirements: With average rent at C$1,743, you’ll want to make about C$5,810 per month or C$69,720 per year.

Comparative Analysis: Making the Right Choice

Monthly Cost Comparison (One-Bedroom Unfurnished)

City	Average Rent	Year-over-Year Change	Income Required
Vancouver	$2,421	-$15	$96,840/year
Burnaby	$2,289	-$78	$91,560/year
Surrey	$1,846	-$101	$73,840/year

Transportation Considerations

Vancouver: Excellent walkability and transit, minimal car needs Burnaby: Good SkyTrain access, some areas car-dependent Surrey: Improving transit, currently car-recommended

Lifestyle Factors

Urban Amenities: Vancouver > Burnaby > Surrey Value for Money: Surrey > Burnaby > Vancouver
Family Suitability: Surrey > Burnaby > Vancouver Commute to Downtown: Vancouver > Burnaby > Surrey

2025 Market Predictions and Trends

Supply and Demand Factors

We expect more vacancies in the rental market as lower immigration reduces demand while large amounts of inventory come online. This trend particularly benefits renters in all three markets.

Key Developments:

New condominium pricing in Surrey and Burnaby will see some support after quarters of climbing unsold inventory
Increased rental apartment construction
Short-term rental restrictions increasing long-term supply

Interest Rate Impact

With the Bank of Canada maintaining lower interest rates, rent and home prices may continue to fall through 2025, creating opportunities for renters to negotiate better deals or find upgraded accommodations within their budget.

Regional Growth Patterns

Surrey’s growing population and rising demand for homes continue to drive market interest, while Vancouver and Burnaby maintain their established markets with slight price corrections.

Tips for Renters in 2025

Negotiation Strategies

Current Market Conditions Favor Renters:

Furnished units rented for less than unfurnished ones in five of nine Metro Vancouver cities, indicating unusual market conditions
Increased inventory provides more options
Year-over-year price declines create negotiation opportunities

Seasonal Considerations

Best Times to Hunt:

Late fall and winter typically offer better deals
Early spring sees increased competition
Summer months have higher rental activity

What to Look For

In Surrey: Check proximity to future SkyTrain stations In Burnaby: Focus on SkyTrain-accessible areas for best value In Vancouver: Consider slightly less central neighborhoods for significant savings

Conclusion: Finding Your Perfect Metro Vancouver Rental

The 2025 Metro Vancouver rental market offers distinct advantages depending on your priorities:

Choose Surrey if: You prioritize affordability, space, and don’t mind a longer commute to Vancouver. With average one-bedroom rents at $1,846 and year-over-year decreases of 5.8%, Surrey provides exceptional value.

Choose Burnaby if: You want a balance between affordability and urban amenities, with good transit access. At $2,289 average rent, you get more space than Vancouver while maintaining reasonable access to the city.

Choose Vancouver if: You prioritize walkability, urban lifestyle, and minimal commute times, and can afford premium pricing. Despite being the most expensive at $2,421 average rent, Vancouver offers unmatched urban amenities.

Market Outlook: 2025 will see things settling down following a handful of more turbulent years, with economists predicting a “balanced market”. This creates excellent opportunities for renters to find quality accommodations at relatively stable prices.

For personalized rental searches and the latest listings across all three markets, explore RentSeeker.ca’s comprehensive database to find your perfect Metro Vancouver home.

Data sources: liv.rent monthly reports, Rentals.ca National Rent Report, CMHC market surveys, and local real estate boards. Rental prices are averages and may vary significantly by specific location, building quality, and market timing. Always verify current pricing directly with landlords or property managers.

Southern Ontario Housing Market Sees Increase 2 Years After the Fair Housing Plan

RentSeeker Team — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 16:37:53 +0000

Housing marketing increasing in southern Ontario

Southern Ontario housing markets continued to grow in the two years after the Fair Housing Plan (FHP) was introduced by the former Liberal provincial government, reports Zoocasa.

This online brokerage recently analyzed MLS data in order to analyze on how every major housing market in Ontario has fared since the FHP was announced in April 2017.

What happened?

The FHP introduced 16 measures designed to chill the market, including rent controls and a foreign buyer tax. Its real effect was psychological, however, as both buyers and sellers were operating under a cloud of uncertainty. Prices and sales immediately cooled. But that was two years ago — what’s the story now?

Zoocasa found that markets in southern Ontario, in contrast to the York Region and the eastern suburbs, remained largely unscathed, having posted steady gains since then.

Cause of market increase

The success of this region is likely due to the fact that properties are still fairly affordable, and the job landscape is strong. Windsor homes shot up a full 25 per cent in price to $344,000 while London homes climbed 19 per cent to $430,000. Buyers priced out of Toronto are likely to have contributed to levels of high demand in this city.

Smaller cities also doing well

Other smaller, more affordable cities also did well.

Barrie homes for sale shot up 7 per cent to $563,530 and Kitchener real estate rose 5 per cent to just over $500,000.

York Region, eastern, western Ontario, not doing so well

Meanwhile, York Region, which is mostly full of expensive single-family homes, got hit the hardest. Prices fell upwards of -30 per cent and activity stalled.

Similarly, western cities along Lake Ontario proved to not be as resilient. Expensive Oakville sank 18 per cent, neighbouring Burlington by 4 per cent and Brampton by 6 per cent.

The eastern suburbs, for reasons that are unclear, considering that they too are also affordable, also plunged in price. That includes Oshawa down 17 per cent, Whitby, down 15 per cent and Ajax down 12 per cent.

Looking forward, it’s too early to say what the FHP holds for the future. The government is now Conservative and they’ve already rolled back rent controls and created a new housing guide, called Housing Supply Action Plan.

Ontario housing market infographic

Check out the infographic below for a full ranking of Ontario cities.

By Zoocasa

Zoocasa.com is a leading real estate company that combines online search tools and a full-service brokerage to empower Canadians to buy or sell their homes faster, easier and more successfully. Home buyers can browse real estate listings on the website or the free iOS app.

Newly Updated Rental Data Shows Average Rents for 20 Canadian Cities

RentSeeker Team — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 05:08:50 +0000

September 14th 2016 – RentSeeker.ca – Canada’s Leading Real Estate Listing Website and Apartment Finder, published newly updated rental data in what’s become it’s highly popular [INFOGRAPHIC] format, which has become a popular resource for Renters, Landlords, Economists, and Journalists which shows Average Rent Prices for September 2016 with Data Provided for 20 Canadian Cities.

RentSeeker.ca’s new [INFOGRAPHIC] shows updated average rent prices for 20 cities across Canada which RentSeeker.ca was able to provide through it’s extensive database of apartment listings using a newly developed real-time algorithm program. A more comprehensive report showing the average rent costs for cities across Canada is scheduled to be published in early December 2016. RentSeeker.ca’s last Canada wide report showing the average rent costs in cities across Canada was published in December 2015 and can be viewed here:

This new updated report and [INFOGRAPHIC] covers the following apartment sizes;

Average Rent Prices for Studio / Bachelor Apartments
Average Rent Prices for 1 Bedroom Apartments
Average Rent Prices for 2 Bedroom Apartments
Average Rent Prices for 3 Bedroom Apartments

and the report provides updated average pricing for apartment rentals in real-time for the following cities;

For media inquiries or to share this [INFOGRAPHIC], please contact Media@RentSeeker.ca

(Click the [INFOGRAPHIC] to Enlarge)

RentSeeker.ca’s Housing and Rental Market Reports and INFOGRAPHIC’s are utilized by Home-Buyers, Renters, Students, Landlords, Property Managers, Real Estate Brokers, Mortgage Professionals, Economists, and Journalists providing an in-depth analysis of Canada’s Real Estate landscape. This newest report follows RentSeeker.ca’s Recent Report showing the National Average Cost of Housing across Canada with Year-over-Year Price Comparisons which was featured on Huffington Post, CTV News, and other Canadian media outlets.

For up-to-date information on Canada’s Housing and Rental Markets, subscribe to RentSeeker.ca’s Newsletter on our Blog.

And follow RentSeeker.ca on Social Media:

What Affordable Housing Means and Why It’s Important

RentSeeker Team — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 17:20:48 +0000

The term ‘affordable housing’ means very different things to different people. If you ask the average 30 something year old couple trying to find a house in downtown Toronto, affordable means anything under $1 000 000 as the average cost for a detached home hit $1.26 million this month. On the other end of the socio economic ladder, many Canadians are experiencing difficulties finding a place to live within their budget in neighbourhoods they have lived in for years, and the problem is only getting worse.

The general rule of thumb regarding how much of your income should be allotted for rent is 30%. For many families, 30% of their income isn’t enough to afford a place to live and they need to spend more than that. This article shows that across the country 40% of renters spend more than 30% of their household income on rent and about 20% spend more than 50%. When a household is spending more than 50% of their income on rent, they’re at risk for becoming homeless, and that adds up to a lot of Canadians.

According to Canada’s largest real estate finder RentSeeker.ca, here are the average rent costs across Canada and here is the average cost of a house in cities across Canada.

What is Affordable Housing?

According to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), housing is technically considered “affordable if shelter costs account for less than 30% of before-tax household income” and therefor affordable housing refers to a variety of programs and initiatives designed to help those in need.

As you can see the term ‘affordable housing’ is really an umbrella term referring to a variety of housing options that are funded from the private, public and non-profit sectors. From emergency shelters to subsidized housing, there is a range of programs designed to make housing affordable for people of all socio economic classes. Currently, the Federal Government invests approximately $2 billion into these initiates, and you can find more information about them here.

There has been a fair amount of talk in recent weeks about affordable housing, and what can be done to help those that need it. The CMHC states that 80% of Canadian housing needs are met through the open market, affirming the need to help a large number of Canadians find housing options within their means. As the national real estate market continues to explode, this issue is becoming increasingly relevant. RentSeeker is here to offer some insight into the current events that are greatly affecting the affordable housing real estate market.

The Canadian Real Estate Boom

Simply put, the real estate boom in major cities is creating affordable housing issues. The increase in the real estate market has a direct affect on rental prices, and as one increases so will the other. Foreign investment in condo opportunities has also played a part in driving up costs, but this is pale in comparison to the overall growth that popular cities have experienced in recent years. Despite the number of people waiting for a crash or even a market correction, there are no sign it will anytime soon.

Newcomers Moving to Canada

There are no shortage of jokes and memes in the media about the foreign desire to move to Canada. Whether you live in a country that is terrified about the potential of a presidential candidate winning or your country voted to ‘go solo’, Canada is a much more realistic home for many people across the world that may never have considered it before recent events. If even a small number of people who say they will move actually do so, Canada could experience a huge immigration increase in the next few years. Increasing the number of newcomers above what the country already experiences would drive up the demand for rental units, thereby making the rental market more competitive.

Turning Neigbhourhoods into Vacation Destinations

Affordable housing doesn’t just affect those living in the big cities. Areas that have become popular as vacation destinations can have a devastating financial affect on locals who can’t afford to keep up. In Ontario, the Muskoka region has seen a huge increase in housing prices just as the Okanagan region in British Columbia. For many families who have lived in these regions for decades, the cost of living has simply gotten too high.

Accessible and Adaptable Homes

These homes enable both the elderly population and those living with needs to remain in their communities, and advocates say there isn’t enough being done to help them. Accessible homes can be costly, as modifications need to be done in order to accommodate the needs of the people who live there. For many landlords, this isn’t a tempting investment when compared to utilizing development opportunities on the open market. As the Baby Boomers age, the increase of the aging population will put more stress on the system, and many are worried that retirees will have little choice but to move out of their home in search of more affordable options.

Affordable housing is a complex social issue, and unfortunately, there will always be those in need of these important services. While cities like Vancouver are ranked extremely high for unaffordable housing (just behind New York and London) there is work being done from both the private and public sectors to improve the lives of Canadians across the country. Affordable housing affects thousands of Canadians and it’s important to know what the term actually means as it becomes more prevalent in the media along with the importance of our national real estate market.