Metro Vancouver's rental market shifted dramatically in 2025, with the vacancy rate climbing to 3.7% — its highest level in more than three decades. Rents, meanwhile, remain high, though the year-over-year increases fell to their lowest in 20 years.While a rise in vacancies was expected, the increase surpassed forecasted levels. According to a report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, downtown Vancouver remained relatively steady thanks to recent return‑to‑office trends, but other areas saw vacancies reach or exceed previous peaks.The trend has been attributed to higher supply and weaker demand, with much of the latter coming from changes to federal policies regarding non‑permanent residents. It was also noted that many young renters are opting for shared living arrangements or simply staying with family. While demand fell, purpose‑built rental construction outpaced the five‑year average in Vancouver, and came close in Coquitlam, Burnaby, and Surrey. .The trend was not seen equally across the price spectrum. The most affordable units, for example, were still in high demand."These results show that our housing initiatives are paying off for renters," Housing Minister Christine Boyle said in a statement. "In this past month, we have seen that BC continues to lead the country in asking-rent declines, down 8.5% in the past two years."She noted, however, that they "still have more good work to do to get to a point where housing is truly affordable for everyone.""We can't go backwards to the days of red tape and policies that fuelled speculation, blocked construction and drove housing costs beyond what everyday people could afford, pushing out people who shape and support our communities," Boyle warned.Similar trends were recorded elsewhere in British Columbia, with Victoria seeing its highest vacancy rate since 1999, 3.3%, and other municipalities with populations above 10,000 seeing rates rise by anywhere from 1.9% to 3.5%.
