‘How much would you pay?’ Ad asks roommates to name their price as B.C. rents slide – BC

It’s another sign that pressure on Vancouver’s rental market could finally be easing up.

A Vancouver woman looking to rent out a room in a shared house says after getting no takers for months, she ultimately asked would-be tenants to name their own price.

Kate Ferguson has lived in her Vancouver share house for about four years, and as the leaseholder has been responsible for finding roommates when a space opened up.

2:21
Latest rental data paints a not-so rosy picture of housing affordability in B.C.

In previous years, she says, listings were always snapped up immediately. This time was different.

“It has been getting harder, progressively, over the last year,” she said. “The market must be changing, I guess.”

In November 2024, Ferguson listed an 11-foot by 15-foot bedroom with a south-facing window, a private bathroom and internet and utilities included for $1,200.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

“Maybe two or three people wrote to me to say, ‘Hey, is it available?’ … and then they never got back to me,” she said.

“Eventually I put up an ad that had just $123 as the price and said, ‘How much would you pay for this room?’ I have never had trouble in 18 years renting a room like this.”

Many of the people who replied suggested rents in the range of $800, Ferguson said, which is what she and the home’s other tenant pay for rooms half the size and without a bathroom.

Vancouver Realtor Steve Saretsky says Ferguson’s story is a sign of the region’s changing rental environment.

“The reality is not only is it taking longer to find tenants, but you are getting a lower rent, and that’s just a painful adjustment for [landlords] that I think in Vancouver aren’t really used to,” he said.

Statistics back that perception up.

5:22
B.C. housing minister announces next phase of short-term rental rules

After years of double-digit growth, rents in Vancouver finally flattened, then began dropping in 2023.

According to Rentals.ca’s January 2025 rent report, the rent for a Vancouver one-bedroom fell seven per cent year over year, while a two-bedroom slid 6.3 per cent.

“You’ve got a record number of rental housing under construction … that coincides with CMHC’s [Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] financing program that has been very beneficial to that sector,” Saretsky said.

“You’ve got that combined with the changes in immigration, clampdowns on temporary workers, foreign students — I think the writing is on the wall.”

Ferguson, meanwhile, said she spent most of January panicking, worrying she’d be left covering the extra rent herself.

The crisis was averted at the last minute — she found a roommate Tuesday night, with just days to spare before the end of the month at the $1,200 price.

“I have been terrified,” she said. “A couple of days ago I was doing not so good.”

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.