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

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.

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.

“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 …