Kelowna rental rates 11th highest in the country: Rentals.ca

Kelowna’s rental housing rates are among the highest in the province, and are approaching the top 10 in Canada.

The national rent rankings by Rentals.ca show the Central Okanagan city having average monthly rental rates of $2,032 for a one bedroom unit and $2,544 for a two bedroom home.

The one bedroom rates were up 1.4 per cent on a monthly basis and 9.3 per cent annually, while the two bedroom fees rose 5.1 per cent monthly and 7 per cent annually.

The report showed Kelowna had the 11th highest rental rates in Canada, and the fourth highest in B.C.

Vancouver topped the national and provincial figures ($2,633 for 1BR and $3,598 for 2BR).

The other highest rates in B.C. were Burnaby ($2,304 for 1BR and $2,968 for 2BR) and Victoria ($2,069 for 1BR and $2,698 for 2BR).

The report did not include data for Vernon or other Interior municipalities.

B.C.’s average rental rates in December were $2,173 for one bedroom units and $2,820 for two bedrooms. Those figures represent a 15.4 per cent annual increase for the single units and a 15.1 per cent increase for two bedrooms since last December.

The national average rental rates in December were recorded at $1,739 for one bedroom units and $2,133 for two bedroom units. Those reflect annual increases of 8.9 per cent and 12.2 per cent, respectively.

Rentals.ca’s price rankings is based on online listings on its website, and may skew higher than the numbers collected and published by the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation.