NANAIMO — Despite continued drops in average asking rent in both B.C. and Canada, a similar trend is still skirting the Harbour City.
The June 2026 Rent Report, produced by Rentals.ca, showed 4.7 per cent and 5.7 per cent drops in year-over-year asking rents for Canada and B.C., respectively, but notable increases in Nanaimo.
One-bedroom units were priced at an average of $1,844 as of June 1, a 3.6 per cent increase over last year, while two-bedroom apartments are going for $2,244 on average, a 3.1 per cent increase.
The prices rank Nanaimo as the 31st priciest rental market in the country and tenth in the province.
Nanaimo also joins only a handful of communities, exclusively in Ontario and Quebec, with notable increases in rental prices over the last 12 months of more than three per cent.
Kingston, Kanata, and Ajax, Ontario, all saw prices for one or two-bedroom homes rise between 3.3 and 10.2 per cent.
Just behind Nanaimo, as the 32nd priciest rental market, was Kamloops, which saw one-bedroom apartments increase in rent by 3.9 per cent, while the report noted a slight drop for larger rentals.
“Average asking rent in Canada declined 4.7 per cent year-over-year in May, down $100 to $2,029, representing the 20th consecutive month of year-over-year declines,” the report noted. “On a monthly basis, rents rose by 0.1 per cent from April, well below the average seasonal increase for the month of May.”
North Vancouver, Vancouver, and Kanata were ranked the top three most expensive places to rent.
An average one-bedroom apartment in North Vancouver is renting for a nationwide high of $2,445 per month, while the most expensive two-bedroom rental was priced at $3,330 in Vancouver.
A statement from the provincial government indicated their housing policies were at least partially responsible for the drop but also admitted the goal of many to afford rent or own a home in a community they love remains out of reach for many.
Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle said in a statement, they’re continuing to focus on building affordable housing and implement policy to support rent decreases.
“We’ve said it before, and each month shows that what we’re doing is working and we need to keep going so renters can get the full benefits of more reasonable housing costs and more housing choices. We know we need to work harder to ensure we can continue to bring down the cost to deliver more homes for people throughout this province in order to see these trends continue.”
Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.
Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook
