Rental website places Kelowna as 11th most expensive city

Kelowna is just outside the top ten most expensive rental rates in Canada.

The rental property listing website Rentals.ca has ranked Kelowna as the 11th most expensive city for renters in the country.

The February Rent Report, which is based on online listings, showed the average rental rate for a one-bedroom unit in Kelowna was $1,943, while the average two-bedroom rate was $2,398.

The one-bedroom rate was down two per cent from the previous month, but was up 17.8 per cent from February 2022.

The two bedroom rate was up 0.2 per cent from January. Rentals.ca did not have a comparison for an annual rate change.

Kelowna placed between North York and Kitchener, Ontario, in the rankings.

Based on Rentals.ca’s data, Vancouver had the highest rental rates in Canada ($2,730 for a one-bedroom and $3,624 for a two bedroom). Toronto was ranked second ($2,458 / $3,227), followed by Burnaby ($2,403 / $3,095) then Oakville, Ontario ($2,245 / $2,879).

Vernon was not mentioned the report, but Victoria (7th) and Surrey (18th) were included in the list of 35 cities.

The monthly report stated the average rental rate for a one-bedroom unit in B.C. was $2,163, and a two-bedroom was an average of $2,769 a month. Those figures represent an annual increase of 16 per cent for a one-bedroom and a 13.6 per cent hike for a two-bedroom unit.

Both those rates were the highest in the country.

Comparatively, the national average rental rate for a one-bedroom was $1,739 (up 8.7 per cent annually) and the two-bedroom average was $2,103 (up 10.1 per cent).

Rent report for February 20223 (Image credit: Rentals.ca)