Toronto Q3 2019 Rental Market Report
Every quarter (as well as every month) the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) releases their condo and rental market statistics for the city. The committee serves the over 50,000 realtors of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to assist them in understanding where the market was, where it is and where it’s projected to head. The information comes from their Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which collects all the data on all properties purchased, rented and leased. Job growth as well as an increase in population are the main factors contributing to these trends. The collection of data further evidences the continuing benefits of the Toronto market. Here is a breakdown of the third quarter rental market status report for the GTA.
From July to August of this year, we saw a supply of condo apartment rentals at 10,800, which is a 17.3% increase (9,205) from the same time last year. Rents have increased all over the GTA in all types of rental units. Bachelors went up by 2.7% from $1,854 to $1,903, one-bedrooms went up 4.5% from $2,163 to $2,262, two-bedrooms went up 4.2% from $2,822 to $2,941 and three-bedrooms went up 13.5% from $3,304 to $3,749. The rise in just a year is very dramatic in our increasingly populating city. Although, the elevation in prices is not as high as last year from the year before that.
Rentals for townhouses have also greatly increased in volume and price. As of this quarter, we have 1,260 leased, an increase of 25.6% to last year’s 1,003. The average rent of a bachelor went up 61% from $1,025 to $1,650, one-bedrooms went up 10.5% from $1,858 to $2,052, two-bedrooms went up 10.3% from $2,316 to $2,554 and three-bedrooms went up 10% from $2,585 to $2,842.
All rental transactions and leases for apartments and townhouses within the city remain higher and have increased more than any of the surrounding areas, which include the Peel, Durham and York regions. Throughout these areas we also see a booming increase in rentals and leases, which also dictates a rise in prices. The government agency Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) statistics show that of the GTA, Toronto has the largest share of rental apartments, at 35.3%, even though it has dipped by 0.1% from last quarter. Currently, the rental vacancy rate is 0.7%, which remains the same from last year; second to the Halton regions now 0.6%.
There was also a 30.1% increase in the properties listed for rental from the third quarter of last year. TREB president Michael Collins has witnessed more confidence in investors realizing the potential of real estate over the past few years, as well as an increase in available properties, due to the large increase of those leasing out. The entire Greater Toronto area remains a strong place to invest, and the data suggests that it will continue for the foreseeable future. Our rapid increase demonstrates that the sooner you purchase the more advantageous it will be from an investor perspective. You can see by the numbers why REC consistently advocate the buy and hold strategy.