Rental Market Continues to Soar

I wrote a few months ago that it was a good time to be a landlord, particularly if you are in the condo rental game. Supply seems to be at an all time low, vacancy rate is zero or close to it, and bidding wars from renters are driving rental rates up far faster than sale prices.

I wanted to share with you another anecdotal story to illustrate just how crazy the rental market is right now. A colleague of mine recently listed a unit at VU (112/116 George Street – Adelaide and Jarvis). It was a 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit on a mid-level floor and it included 1 parking spot (floor plan below). There was nothing remarkable about this unit other than it was a rather large one bedroom. It was NOT on the preferred side of the building facing the downtown skyline, rather it had an east exposure.

Asking price was $1950/month! For a 1 bedroom on Jarvis! I thought they were being way too aggressive on the asking price but when I called my friend who was the listing agent, he told me that in just 2 days on the market the property attracted 5 offers and went for $2050/month! $100 over the asking price. Wow.

This is just one story of hundreds. Ask anyone who has tried to rent a condo downtown it the last 6 months how their experience was. Downtown Toronto is booming. All signs continue to point towards increased rents and better returns to come for investors who are buying today. Those who have their heads stuck in the sand and keep saying things like, “they are building too many condos’ are totally out of touch with the reality of how tight the rental market is downtown.

If you are a condo owner looking for property leasing services, please contact me.