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The Metro Kelowna region is one of the most expensive in the country in terms of how much you'll pay each month in rent.
According to the yearly report from the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation released Thursday, rent for the average two bedroom apartment in a purpose-built rental in the Central Okanagan in October 2022 increased by 15 per cent in a year from $1,475 to $1,690.
The average two bedroom condo rented out by an independent landlord will run you $2,234 a month.
Only Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto are higher among Canada's Census Metropolitan areas.
While it's costing more to live, there is a glimmer of good news. According to the report, there are more places in which to live in the Central Okanagan.
The vacancy rate for apartments doubled in 2022 to 1.2 per cent from 0.6 per cent the year before. The availability of condos also increased from 0.1 per cent in 2021 to 0.7 per cent in 2022.
That puts the metro region—spanning Lake Country to Peachland—ninth nationally. Halifax and Charlottetown have the lowest vacancy rate in the country at 0.8 per cent.
The apartment vacancy rate in Kelowna has fluctuated greatly over the past six years, from a historic low of 0.2 per cent in 2017 to a high of 2.7 per cent in 2019.
The provincial vacancy rate is 1.3 per cent while the national rate is 1.9 per cent.
CHMC only takes into account apartment and condo units in its vacancy survey. Carriage houses, secondary suites, houses and other accommodations are not taken into consideration.
It appears people are not moving quite as much either. The turnover rate dipped sightly from 24 per cent to 23.1 per cent.
The City of Kelowna says it continues to approve rental apartments in ever increasing numbers in an effort to increase the rental availability and, at the same time make those units more affordable.
In a recent report on housing affordability, planning staff indicated 11,500 homes have been approved over the past five years with 5,000 rental units currently in various stages of approval.
