Rents in Toronto Came Down

We talk a lot on this channel about buying and selling homes, but a topic with a big following is renting in Toronto and the GTA. People in Iran planning to come to Canada, renters here in Toronto, and homeowners all follow rental news. An interesting thing has happened in the rental market that I want to dig into: a drop in rents for the first time since the pandemic began in Canada. I am Moe Asgarian, a senior real estate broker in Toronto, ranked number 47 worldwide at RE/MAX.

The first rent drop since the pandemic

Two new reports, which I will link, show that rent in Canada has come down. You heard right, it dropped. As I said, this is the first time it has happened since the pandemic began. These reports were published by Urbanation and Rentals.ca, and we see the average rent in October fell 1.2 percent to 2,151 dollars a month. Looking at the last three months, annual price growth slowed by 2.2 percent, meaning rents, especially in Toronto and Vancouver, are not rising at the pace they used to.

Toronto and the wider region

Reports on the Vancouver market, which is an important one, show one bedroom rent dropped about 10 percent from last year to this year. Since our focus is Toronto and the GTA, we will note it and move on. Interestingly, the drop in Ontario, especially around Toronto, is roughly the same. One bedroom rent in the City of Toronto reached 2,380 dollars a month, about a 9 percent decline versus last year. Note that rents are rising in some cities, especially where federal government employees were forced back to the office, like Ottawa, where many federal workers live and prices grew a bit.

Why rents are falling

I think this downward trend in rents continues, both because of Canada's new immigration policies and because of the large supply of condos. I want to talk a bit about condos, since the condo market makes up a big part of the rental market. Last year, going through the numbers on this channel, I said condo prices in Toronto would not change much, and looking back at the figures, that is what happened. My estimate is that condo prices will not rise much for at least the next 10 to 12 months given the rate environment.

The link between rents and condo prices

This matters because rent has a direct relationship with condo prices. How do I know? One important indicator is the rising number of days a condo stays on the market before selling. If you have seen my market analysis videos, you know this number is climbing, and condos are selling more slowly month by month. So if you are in Iran and planning to come to Toronto soon, or you rent in Toronto, my answer on what happens to rents in the coming months is that I expect a downward trend and no rent increases soon. If you'd like a straight answer for your own situation, fill out the form below and book a free consultation. Stay well and take care.

Selling a condo in this market

If you have visited our website and seen the listings we bring to market each month, you will notice that last month we managed to sell two of our condos at a very good price at a very good time. As I have said in earlier videos, if you are selling a condo, it must be in great shape to present, in terms of location and physical condition, staged if needed, and priced well so you can find a buyer. With the right strategy, my team and I sold those two condos very close to asking in a short time. One of our specialties at Team Asgarian is the Toronto and GTA rental market. If you'd like a straight answer for your own situation, fill out the form below and book a free consultation. Stay well and take care.