How’s Victoria’s rental market doing? Well, it depends on who you ask.
Every month, websites like Rentals.ca and Zumper – both popular online rental market services – publish reports showing changes in rental rates across Canadian cities.
But depending on where you look, you may come away with a very different impression of Victoria’s rental market.
For instance, potential renters might feel a sense of optimism after reviewing the May 2025 Rentals.ca Rent Report. The site ranks Victoria as the 17th most expensive rental market in Canada, based on the cost of a one-bedroom apartment. Rentals.ca also shows a relative decline in lease costs, with a one-bedroom averaging around $2,081 a month, a 1.5 per cent decrease from May 2024. The average cost of a two-bedroom fell by 3.7 per cent to $2,665.
Meanwhile, those who turn to Zumper’s Canadian Rent Report may feel a sense of dread. According to Zumper, Victoria is the fourth most expensive rental market in the country, again based on the cost of a one-bedroom.
Zumper lists the average cost of a one-bedroom in Victoria at $2,160 – a 2.9 per cent increase from May 2024. The jump for two-bedrooms is even more dramatic. Zumper shows the average cost at $2,880, representing a 7.9 per cent increase from the previous year – a stark contrast to Rentals.ca’s data.
“In terms of Victoria, this market has always been one of the nation's more expensive rental markets due to the limited housing supply, growing population, and its strong appeal as a coastal city,” said Crystal Chen, a representative from Zumper.
The discrepancies between reports can largely be attributed to the amount of data each website collects, the number of cities they include, and the methodologies they use. While Zumper uses median asking rents, Rentals.ca uses the mean. The mean reflects the average price, while the median is the middle value in a set of prices – a key distinction that alone can result in significantly different statistics.
That said, it’s not that one method is better than the other. Each site bases its findings on rental listings posted on its own platform. Rentals.ca also draws from a wider dataset, including listings from 37 additional cities.
“We opt for median since that typically shows more of the midpoint without being skewed by extreme highs or lows,” said Chen.
“The fact that Zumper has Victoria at No. 4, while we have it placed lower, is a product of other markers we include that Zumper does not,” said Giacomo Ladas, associate director of communications for Rentals.ca.
“For example, we have Coquitlam ranked as the third most expensive city for a one-bedroom, while Zumper doesn't have any data on that city.”
Zumper includes many types of rentals in its reports, such as basement apartments, condos, townhouses, and semi-detached homes.
While Ladas stands by Rentals.ca’s data, he acknowledges the situation can be confusing.
“Renters should use Rentals.ca for their rental report information, but if they choose to go somewhere else, we suggest reading the full methodologies to understand exactly what they are looking at.”
Despite the differences in data, both Ladas and Chen agree that Victoria’s rental market appears to be moving in a positive direction.
“While both one- and two-bedroom rents in Victoria are currently rising, they remain below their respective peaks from last year: $2,180 for one-bedrooms in May 2024 and $2,900 for two-bedrooms in July 2024,” Chen said.
“This suggests that Victoria is returning to a more typical seasonal pattern, with rents climbing through the warmer months and easing in the winter. I expect this seasonality to continue in 2025.”
Ladas echoed the sentiment.
“I do think this is a more favourable renter’s market, especially with all the move-in incentives property managers are now offering to get the attention of renters again,” he said.
“Major cities across Canada are seeing prolonged decreases in asking rents, which means if you’re interested in renting, you might be surprised to see how much asking rents have gone down.”
While national averages in both reports show a decline nationwide, that can be of little solace to residents when prices between cities can still vary dramatically.
Chen advised prospective renters to plan their moves during colder months, when demand is typically lower. Both Chen and Ladas stressed that future renters should always review a report’s methodology when comparing prices.
