Latest news with #TorontoRentals
Globe and Mail
11-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Toronto condo renters play their strong hand
Tenants appear to still have the upper hand in Canada's biggest rental market as Toronto's condominium developers continue to add more newly completed apartments to the mix. 'Tenants are moving from their higher-priced units they acquired last year, if they see the same unit they can get for $100-$200 less on the same floor,' said Oyla Walker, a realtor with Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd. 'There's a lot of that kind of unit jumping.' Ms. Walker specializes in condo rentals and closes about a dozen leases a month. There are many segments of the rental market in big cities like Toronto – from basement apartments in downtown detached homes to high-rise purpose-built rental buildings. But one of the highest-value segments over recent decades has been condominium apartments, which typically rent at a premium to other options. But as tens of thousands of new condos have been delivered to the Toronto region in the last year, tenants are increasingly negotiating for better deals. 'Tenants can certainly be a little pickier now,' said Joshua Raxlen, broker of record for Homewise Real Estate, who also handles property management for condominium rentals. 'There's a substantial amount of rental supply on the market in the condo space.' Critics say proposed GST rebate won't help most first-time homebuyers In Toronto condo land, the investor buyer has left the building According to the latest rental market report from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (one of the largest single sources of data on condo rents in the region) the first quarter of 2025 was the busiest that quarter has ever been in terms of transactions with 14,797 apartments leased out of 22,652 listed for rent (an absorption rate of 65 per cent). What's unusual is that despite this record activity the average rents for the most commonly rented units – one bedroom ($2,343) and two-bedroom ($3,036) apartments – declined for the second quarter in a row, and are now sitting about $300 cheaper than the peak rents achieved in the third quarter of 2023. Monthly data from suggests rents for all types of one-bedroom apartments were down 7 per cent year over year in May, and down 10.7 per cent for two-bedroom units. 'Tenants are reaching out to reduce the rent, not all of them, but some are,' said Sundeep Bahl, realtor with Re/Max Plus City Team Inc. Mr. Bahl said the bargaining power tenants have is similar to the period during the pandemic when many residents fled the city. 'In some situations, we're telling landlords: 'Don't let them leave, compromise.'' He said the time it might take to replace the tenant could mean months of lost rent, costing more than even a several hundred dollar per month rent reduction. But not all landlords, particularly those who own newly completed units, are playing the game with the same financial hand. 'I've had units at [the condo building at] 55 Mercer that I have not leased; the landlord looked at market rents and said 'I'm not locking in there,'' said Mr. Raxlen. His company represented about 50 units out of hundreds that went up for rent when the downtown Toronto project by developer CentreCourt finished construction in 2024. As with many downtown Toronto condos in the current market, the most cash-hungry landlord often determines the market price for the entire building. 'There's two kinds of investors in the building; people who don't need the money to cover the mortgage – and they will say, 'Screw it, I'll leave it empty.' And some are desperate,' Mr. Raxlen said. If a better-financed landlord wants to rent a two-bedroom unit at 55 Mercer for $3,400 but a desperate landlord is willing to take $3,100 for an identical apartment, tenants will take the lower price. 'That second person becomes the market-maker.' But agents who work in the condo rental market say it's not all the same. 'We can't just put everything in one pool and say this is what's going on in the market,' said Ms. Walker. In some buildings the lower floors have obstructed views, in others the higher floors have too few elevators servicing them. These are factors that can impact price and desirability. Ms. Walker said tenants are keenest on two-bedroom units so they can share rent with a roommate, and many one-bedroom-plus-den options can work as a substitute, so long as the layout is 'functional.' Smaller one-bedrooms designed for thrifty investors aren't so functional, with design compromises that few people want to live in. 'If you've got one of these dark bedrooms with no internal light, these are the kiss of death to a lot of these condo units. Renters have other choices,' said Brandon Sage, a realtor and property manager with LandLord Property and Rental Management. There are signs the market may be shifting. Mr. Raxlen said that he's dropping rent incentives of one or two months free and can still rent at the price he's looking for. 'The bottom of the market, I would say was this winter: January, February, March,' he said. Showings and listings have been picking up, too. 'I've been very busy – I've been swamped I would say – since April-May,' said Ms. Walker. Many of the tenants she's seeing are either folks whose workplace are demanding they spend more time in the office, or have gotten sick of suburban life. But one group has not been looking at condos: buyers. 'Condos have become toxic: nobody wants to own one, nobody wants to buy one,' said Mr. Bahl.
CBC
30-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Toronto landlords vying for tenants with rent-free months, $500 gift cards
Social Sharing Toronto landlords are trying to lure in tenants with rent-free months, complimentary Wi-Fi and $500 gift cards amid an unprecedented supply of condos and lower rents. 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. "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. 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. 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. WATCH | Why are rental prices dropping in Toronto?: What's causing Toronto rent prices to finally fall 18 days ago Duration 3:01 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. "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. 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. 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. Rent costing hundreds of dollars less than in 2024 According to recent data from 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.
