Rental prices in Kelowna are on the rise again.
Over the summer, data from Zumper’s monthly rental price report showed that Kelowna fell all the way from as high as third in 2022 to the mid-teens in the national rankings.
In fact, rental prices were actually lower in the summer of 2023 then they were a year earlier.
However, that downward trend appears to have been bucked, as prices have gone up the last two months and Kelowna has snuck back into the top 10 of most expensive Canadian cities to rent.
It’s a tie for 10th, as Kelowna’s $1,750 average for a one-bedroom unit puts them on par with Hamilton and behind just nine other cities.
Vancouver and Toronto once again claim the top two spots on the list with rental prices of $2,820 and $2,500 respectively for a one-bedroom unit.
Kelowna’s increase of 6.1% from July to August is the highest of any ranked city, although it’s still 4.4% less than what the price was in the Central Okanagan a year ago.
The story is very similar for two-bedroom units, with Kelowna’s rental price bumping up 6% to $2,660, which places the city fifth on the national rankings.
That jump wasn’t the highest in Canada from July to August, however, as Barrie saw a 6.2% increase for two-bedroom units.
The difference between Kelowna’s two-bedroom and one-bedroom increases is that the two-bedroom price is not less than what it was a year ago, but rather a significant 9.5% increase.
“With remarkable population growth and high mortgage rates, the swelling demand for rental housing in Canada is far outpacing available supply so this is putting significant upward pressure on rent prices,” says Zumper’s September report.
“Until there is more housing built, rents will remain high and rising through the fall.”
You can view the entire Zumper report by clicking this link.
