Rent-free months and gift cards: How Ontario landlords are vying for tenants
Real-estate market experts say the fierce competition – which extends beyond the Greater Toronto Area – is giving renters more negotiating power, echoing trends last seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two months of free rent, free parking and gift cards for food delivery or public transit are among thousands of dollars' worth of perks and discounts advertised on Toronto rental listing websites and apps.
While such incentives are ubiquitous in Toronto, landlords in other GTA cities and the Greater Hamilton Area are also locked in a tight contest that benefits renters.
Michael Niezgoda, senior manager of market research and development at Urbanation, a Toronto-based real estate research firm, said a record 29,000 condominium units were completed in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in 2024 and 40 per cent of that new supply has since entered the rental market.
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'This has created a lot of competition between condo owners, they're very motivated to get tenants in to help pay their mortgage after closing on their new condos,' he said.
2:05
Ottawa promises over $2.5B in financing for affordable rental homes
There were 6,549 condo units available for lease in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area at the end of this year's first quarter – a 29 per cent increase from a year ago and 160 per cent higher than two years ago, last month's Urbanation report shows.
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The report also found that 63 per cent of buildings offered incentives to renters, more than double from a year ago.
The vacancy rate for purpose-built rentals completed since 2000 in the Toronto and Hamilton areas was 3.5 per cent in the first quarter this year, the highest level since nearly four years ago.
The report also found that condo rents are 10 per cent lower from their peak in 2023. Niezgoda said the second quarter might see a further drop, even though the majority of landlords are resistant to the idea.
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'Looking at all this supply hitting the condo markets and (they) are thinking this could be a short-term market impact,' he said. 'To stay competitive in this short-term market, let's offer incentives instead of dropping rents.'
Toronto Regional Real Estate Board's chief information officer Jason Mercer also said the record supply of condominium apartments is behind the surge in rental incentives.
Mercer said he has seen similar trends during the financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave renters 'negotiating power on price.'
'You also just benefit from a lot of choice, so it's easier to find an apartment, for example, that perfectly meets your needs,' he said.
2:33
Toronto budget launch recommends 6.9% tax increase
The federal government has implemented a series of measures aimed at stabilizing Canada's population growth and addressing housing shortages, including a reduction in immigration levels and international student permits.
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But Mercer said demand for housing is still high and the number of lease transactions recorded by the board has increased because the population continues to grow and the GTA remains a top destination for newcomers.
According to recent data from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, the national average asking rent in April was down year-over-year for the seventh straight month, with Ontario recording the largest decline. Asking rents in the province fell 2.7 per cent to an average of $2,338.
Zumper, a rental website operating in Canada and the United States, also found in April that rents for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in Toronto had declined 8.4 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively, compared to the same month the year before.
Zumper spokesperson Crystal Chen said many people were 'priced out' of the city when rents surged dramatically in 2023. But reduced demand and broader economic uncertainty mean apartments are now being rented for hundreds of dollars less than a year ago.
'All of this together, the new supply, the weaker demand drivers has resulted in a slower market,' Chen said, adding it's 'a great time for a Toronto renter to find an amenity rich apartment that may have previously been out of reach.'
But experts say the current market dynamics favouring tenants may not last long.
Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand noted in the report that construction of purpose-built and condominium apartments has slowed down significantly this year, and that is an indicator that rental incentives might disappear.
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National Observer
2 hours ago
- National Observer
Is Canada betting big on LNG at just the wrong time?
As the tanker GasLog Glasgow sailed out of Canada's new liquefied natural gas export terminal in Kitimat, BC in late June bound for Asia with the first cargo produced by the $40 billion project, Premier David Eby cheered the benefits it would bring to his province. 'Billions of dollars in economic growth and hundreds of jobs' would be created, he said, as operations geared up at LNG Canada's processing facility, built at a site 640 kilometres north of Vancouver by a group of petro-giants led by Shell Canada. However, the project — Canada's first major LNG plant and the largest single private sector investment in the country's history — he said would also be a pioneering industrial model for developing resources and diversifying exports in the face of US tariff and annexation threats. 'First shipments of made-in-BC energy across the Pacific come at a pivotal time for our province and the country,' Eby said, with projects like Kitimat holding the potential to be the 'economic engine of a more independent Canada' as the country moves through its energy transition. But Canada's first foray into the global LNG market 15 years after Ottawa issued lead-off export licences, along with plans for a further six projects, comes as the global industry enters a period of oversupply expected to put heavy downward pressure on prices. Asia's shifting energy priorities are another factor weighing on the business case for investing billions of dollars in Canadian LNG facilities. China, the world's largest LNG buyer, is ramping up renewables and relying on domestic coal to reduce its reliance on foreign sources of fossil fuels. Other countries balk at building expensive LNG facilities and worry about trade and supply chain disruptions, and more importantly, the price. "Whether Canada will be able to capitalize on the promise of LNG is the question of the hour,' Clark Williams-Derry, an analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a US-based think tank, told Canada's National Observer. After a 'lean period' of new supply from 2021 through 2024, the trajectory for the next five years 'looks like being on track for massive oversupply,' he said. The US is expected to add 97 million tonnes a year of new capacity, followed by Qatar with another 56 million tonnes. Some LNG supply forecasts do not include dozens of LNG projects worldwide that have not yet received a final investment decision — the formal 'green light' for a project to begin construction, he said. But if approved, these projects will also compete with Canadian suppliers for market sales in the early-2030s. 'This is what Canada — which is only now coming to market with LNG Canada — is going to have to navigate: the biggest market upheaval we have ever seen,' Williams-Derry said. 'Demand for the taking' François Poirier, CEO of oil and gas infrastructure giant TC Energy, summed up the gas industry's ambitions to take Canada from minnow to major status in Asia's 270-million-tonne LNG market. Speaking to business leaders in April, he said that if the country has the political will, it could become 'the number one exporter of LNG to Asia' and help that region shed its reliance on coal-fired electricity generation. Mega-project malaise — and milestones 'We have the supply, we have a transportation cost advantage and the demand is there for the taking,' Poirier said, noting that Canada's Pacific coast LNG is closer to Asian markets than US gas shipped from ports on the Gulf of Mexico. Canada's Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Tim Hodgson, insisted last week that Canadian LNG could wrest market share away from the US, the world's top LNG producer, which itself is adding new capacity. ' I know there are buyers,' he told CTV News, without naming countries. Caroline Brouillette, executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada, rejected Hodgson's view that there is international appetite for LNG, despite the three major terminals soon to all be exporting out of BC (see panel below). 'With a global gas glut looming, this could not be further from the truth,' she said in a statement. Ottawa should shun fossil fuels and 'focus exclusively' on renewable energy, energy storage and electricity transmission projects 'based on inexpensive technologies that will make our country resilient in the long run.' Nonetheless, some analysts are predicting a surge in Asian LNG demand by 2050. Wood Mackenzie, an energy intelligence group, for one, forecasts a near doubling in demand to 510 million tonnes a year by 2050, as Asia's developing economies shift to cleaner alternatives to coal. And Mathieu Utting, an analyst with Rystad Energy, another market research house, said Canada may be 'behind the curve in the near-term' in building LNG capacity — particularly as the US forges ahead with new export terminals in the Gulf of Mexico — but expects much of that American gas to be shipped to European markets. 'The most significant growth in global LNG demand to mid-century will come from Asia and in our view, this bodes very well for Canada,' he added. Other analysts are much more pessimistic, seeing earlier hopes of an LNG bonanza for Canadian exports falling flat as a major gas glut looms on the horizon. Fauziah Marzuki, global head of gas at BNEF, an energy market research firm, said LNG oversupply could hit the global market by the early-2030s as new large projects pegged to lofty pre-pandemic gas price forecasts start to come online. 'A lot of LNG projects got delayed by the 'pause' on export approvals in 2024 by the Biden administration,' she told Canada's National Observer. 'Some were delayed because big projects can get delayed, but either way it means there is a lot of LNG on the horizon that will soon be coming into production.' LNG production 'tidal wave' The 'flood' of LNG from new projects could collide later this decade with lower-than-expected demand from key buyers in Europe and Japan, Marzuki said. The received market wisdom that suggested voracious LNG buyers China and India would 'step in to absorb surplus output' is unlikely to happen, she said, because gas prices are generally higher than for Asian coal — while renewable resources, such as wind and solar, are getting precipitously cheaper. In China, energy security concerns are also weighing on the world's biggest LNG buyer. Beijing is ramping up renewable energy capacity and relying on domestic coal supplies to wean itself off foreign fossil fuels as it responds to a trade war with the US — undermining arguments here that Canadian gas can displace coal as Asian economies electrify. The 'tidal wave' of global LNG production coming online through to the end of the decade could see current capacity expand 40 per cent by 2029, said Williams-Derry. He points to a raft of LNG projects under construction in North America, Australia, Russia, Oman, UAE, Nigeria, Gabon, Malaysia, Indonesia, Republic of Congo and Argentina. Together they would add 175 million tonnes a year of capacity as projects become operational sometime in this decade. The US will be home to nearly half of new LNG capacity by 2030, with another 25 per cent from Qatar. 'This raises key questions: who is going to absorb this flood of new supply coming to market?' he asked. 'What will happen to LNG prices? What might this mean for the finances of the sector – not least in Canada?' What happens in Japan is important. The island nation almost single-handedly created Asia's LNG market with a surge in demand to generate electricity and offset the closure of nuclear power plants after the 2011 Fukushima earthquake. Japan's LNG imports fell after 2014 as idled nuclear power plants restarted, and the country generated more power from renewable energy sources. The declining trend in Japan, and other countries such as South Korea, will continue, Williams-Derry said. 'Our expectation is that the demand from these countries will flatline or decline over the coming years.' The softening of the Asian LNG market goes deeper than a downshift in demand from mature economies such as Japan and South Korea, Marzuki said. The level of uncertainty over LNG deliveries to China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia — all have existing gas infrastructure but dwindling domestic supplies — is high because their energy policy strategies are 'highly price sensitive,' she said. China, the world's number one LNG importer, could be counted on for steady year-on-year growth of around 7-12 million tonnes from 2015 to 2022, Williams-Derry said, but no longer. Energy transition 'bridge' to nowhere? LNG worse for climate than coal, experts say 'Most in the industry thought that China's insatiable appetite for LNG would continue,' he said, but demand has dropped 22 per cent in the last year. 'Beijing prioritized domestic gas production, pipeline imports and, of course, a lot of wind and solar as LNG has become the most expensive form of gas in China's energy mix,' Williams-Derry said. In India, the demand for LNG-fuelled power generation that propped up bullish Asian LNG market forecasts 'does not appear to be happening,' he said, putting existing Indian plants at risk of becoming stranded assets. However Asian LNG demand plays out, Marzuki said, the harsh reality is that governments could balk at buying Canadian LNG in favour of cheaper deliveries from other suppliers — or rely on low-cost domestic coal to generate electricity. 'The US, Qatar, Australia, other countries, will all be competing with Canada for these markets,' she said. 'This is where the big growth was supposed to come from.' 'Timing for Canada is a problem' The price competition will be cut-throat for Canadian LNG producers, analysts said. Emerging and developing economies that import gas would need prices at $3-5 per million British thermal units (BTU), the standard unit for measuring the heating content of fuels, to make LNG 'attractive as a large-scale alternative to renewables and coal,' the International Energy Agency said. The IEA noted export projects currently in the global pipeline need around twice that price. LNG coming out of Canada currently breaks even at $7.20-$8.70 per million BTUs, the Canadian Energy Centre, an Alberta-based pro-fossil fuel think tank, said in a recent report. But others, including Williams-Derry, see these price predictions as overly optimistic, given that the global power sector 'will always be on the look-out for other, cheaper sources of fuel than LNG.' Canadian LNG leaving from Pacific ports takes around 10 days to reach Asia — a clear advantage over US exports from the Gulf of Mexico that must travel via the Panama Canal or around the southern tip of South America, a journey that can be twice as long. But Canada's window of opportunity to grab a major slice of Asia's LNG market with this 'quick delivery' time is closing fast, if not already shuttered, Marzuki said. 'Timing is a problem for Canada,' she said, noting the LNG Canada project at Kitimat took years to reach the market after getting the green light in 2012. 'Even if you take the decision to build more LNG terminals today in BC, you still need supply to those terminals, as well as at least five years to construct them,' she said.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
‘Buy now, pay later' services are getting popular. Can you manage the risk?
Canadians are feeling the pinch from the climbing cost of living, with growing numbers of people turning to 'buy now, pay later' approaches to their spending. Experts warn that while it can help ease the up-front pressure, it can be a risky tactic in the long run. 'I have noticed that it's on every single retail website, and if one is not disciplined, I can see how it's so easy for people to agree to buy now, pay later because the payments look so low,' said Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy, CEO of the Edmonton-based non-profit credit counselling agency Money Matters. 'If one is struggling financially and they're told that if they paid $5 or $10 a month, it's a really easy hook for people to make that purchase. However, my concern with those buy now, pay later apps is that people lose track of what they've committed to.' Story continues below advertisement 'Buy now, pay later' offers are not new — effectively, it is a loan or a credit line normally used for a large purchase. 'Our mortgages are the original 'buy now, pay later,' and it seems like companies have found a way to capitalize on that concept,' said Kelly Ho, a Vancouver-based certified financial planner. 'Buy now, play later' offers have increased rapidly during the years since the pandemic. According to research from Morgan Stanley, 'buy now, pay later' loans financed two per cent of all e-commerce sales in 2020. By 2024, that was up to six per cent. Canadians are coming to rely on it more and more, too. By the end of this year, the 'buy now, pay later' market in Canada is expected to grow 12 per cent annually to US$7.5 billion, a report by market research service R&M said. 2:23 Business Matters: Consumer inflation dropped in July to 1.7% Typically, consumers might 'buy now, pay later' for big purchases like TVs, laptops and other expensive electronics. Story continues below advertisement But research suggests Canadians are dipping into these services for small purchases such as takeout. 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. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Canadian fintech firm Koho, which offers 'buy now, pay later' services, said the share of eligible users using that option has risen from 38 per cent to 44 per cent in the last six months. The top categories for which Canadians used 'buy now, pay later' at Koho were groceries, telecom and restaurants. Based on a sample size of 10,000 users, the average transaction was $187, and the average loan amount was $345. While 'buy now, pay later' services can break up a big payment and help you get through a rough patch, making it a habit could lead you into a debt trap, Oleksy said. 'Credit is neither good nor bad. It is just a tool. A good butter knife spreads good butter on your bread, but you drop it on your foot and it can stab you in the foot,' said Oleksy. And while the lure for financially stressed Canadians can be strong, the payments can easily add up to financial pain down the road, said Ho. 'If you have 15 or 20 of those 'buy now and pay later' for the 15 or 20 items that you purchased off of different websites … no matter how organized you are, unless you have a very meticulous spreadsheet detailing every single payment, we have a problem,' Ho said. Story continues below advertisement And if you miss a payment? 'That's where they get you,' Oleksy said. 'If you use it perfectly, it's a decent tool every once in a while. It's when you miss a payment — that's where, boom, the interest tacks on,' she added. 4:23 Bank of Canada holds interest rates steady for a third time How to weigh the risks For some users, 'buy now, pay later' loans could be a way to avoid even riskier credit card debt. Story continues below advertisement 'In a way, if one is disciplined, 'buy now pay later' could help people mitigate those 20 per cent credit card interest rates,' Ho said. According to an Equifax report released Monday, 1.4 million Canadians missed credit card payments in April, May and June of 2025. While that is 7,000 fewer than last quarter, it is 118,000 more than in the same period last year. ''Buy now, pay later,' if it's used very, very strictly, isn't a bad product. It allows someone to break up a payment into equal payments. It might allow someone to delay a payment or even get (something on) zero per cent interest,' Oleksy said. Keeping the 'buy now, pay later' option only for bigger purchases can help mitigate the risks, she added. 'Most of us don't have $1,500 or $2,000 to just drop on a laptop. So maybe you break it up into four payments and that just makes it easier. And you still get what you need for work, school or life. It's just when it becomes a habit, when you're relying on it for the small day-to-day purchases, that's where I start to worry,' she added. 2:30 Business Matters: Simons opens first Toronto location With the new school term starting in a few weeks, parents and students across the country will be heading to stores for back-to-school shopping. Planning ahead of time, instead of dipping into 'buy now, pay later' loans, can help relieve the financial stress that comes with repayments. Story continues below advertisement 'We know that back-to-school is an annual event when you have school-age children. So it's not a surprise that this event is coming up. And like with anything else, planning in advance is key,' Ho said, urging parents to start squirrelling away money ahead of time to spend in August or September. Buying some school supplies second-hand or used could also be a great option, she added. 'Don't spend money that you don't have,' Ho said.
Japan Forward
5 hours ago
- Japan Forward
Niseko Wakes Up, Nixes Foreign Housing Project on Safety Concerns
Hokkaido's Niseko region is renowned as one of the world's top ski resorts. In Kutchan Town, one of Niseko's neighborhoods, a proposal to build apartment complexes primarily for foreign workers was brought forward. The town's agricultural committee, however, unanimously rejected the plan, citing concerns over public safety. Such denials are rare for development projects. Still, Niseko's population swells dramatically in winter, and the housing shortage is already severe. As a result, the fate of future development in the area is being closely watched. The proposal called for building 32-33-story apartment blocks on roughly 2.7 hectares (6.7 acres) of farmland, about 700 meters southeast of JR Kutchan Station. This housing was intended for foreign resort workers, with about 1,200 residents expected. That is equivalent to nearly 10% of the town's population. Designated asType 3 agricultural land (located in urban or rapidly urbanizing areas, generally permissible for non-agricultural conversion), the site required a conversion application, which the developer submitted to the town's agricultural committee in July 2025. According to the town, the project met all the technical conditions for farmland conversion, including feasibility and minimal impact on surrounding farmland. Even so, nearby residents submitted a petition with 262 signatures and a written request citing concerns over public safety. The written request stated, "For the sake of residents' well-being, we ask that you avoid rushing into development and instead make a careful decision that values consensus." At its regular meeting on July 31, the committee reviewed the plan and took residents' concerns into account. It then voted to submit a recommendation opposing the farmland conversion to the Hokkaido governor, who holds final authority over the decision. Sources say a decision on whether to approve or reject the project is expected sometime after October 2025. Nisade Services, a Kutchan-based real estate firm owned by a Singaporean investment company, was behind the project. The housing was intended primarily for foreign workers employed at ski resorts and related lodgings about five kilometers away. In addition, the project envisioned including restaurants and bars. When asked about the project, Kunihiro Kondo, a senior project manager at the company, said he was taken aback. "This was completely unexpected." He noted that resident briefing sessions had been held in December 2024 and again in May 2025 to explain the project. However, while "there were certainly voices expressing concern about public safety, I never imagined the committee would reject it unanimously," he said. Niseko at night with lights of the Hirafu ski area in the background. (©Agnes Tandler) Initially, the project had been slated to break ground in September 2025. In fact, contracts were already signed with construction firms. But without approval, it now risks being scrapped entirely. Kondo stressed the urgency of the issue, explaining that, "In the winter high season, securing housing for resort workers is the biggest challenge. With the shortage already overwhelming, how will this be resolved? I hope people can look at the reality calmly, not just emotionally." Kutchan Town, with a population of about 17,000, now has nearly 20% foreign residents. Over the past year, the foreign population grew by 833, the largest increase of any town or village in Japan. At the same time, land prices have soared, and rents have followed suit. Rents for some 2LDK apartments have reached ¥250,000 JPY ($1,700 USD) a month, on par with Tokyo. Yet demand remains so high that, as Kondo put it, "whenever a vacancy opens up, it's filled immediately." (Read the article in Japanese .) Author: Kenta Shiraiwa, The Sankei Shimbun
