Short Term Rentals in Short Supply

Today I was out with some clients who are looking for a short term rental downtown and I was reminded of something I’ve known for quite some time: Short term rental condos in Toronto are in very short supply.

Currently, as of writing, in all of C01 and C08 combined, there are only 39 available condos for short-term leases of less than 1 year priced under $3000/month on the MLS system. This compared to hundreds of condos available for lease with the traditional 12-month lease system. This is crazy! As a Realtor, finding a suitable short-term rental for clients is a very difficult task. The market is telling us something.

If you own a condo downtown and you have been renting it out as a traditional rental with 12-month leases, consider increasing your rental rate significantly and renting it out on a monthly or short-term basis. Also consider furnishing your unit and charging even more.

If you are an investor looking to get into the game, consider buying a unit for the purpose of renting it out as a short-term rental.ÂÂÂ

Of course, as a landlord, the downside of having a short term rental is that the high turnover means you are constantly looking for new tenants. The upside is that you tend to get higher quality tenants and if your unit is vacant from time to time it doesn’t hurt your cash flow as much because your rates are higher. Hiring a property manager to handle the task of finding tenants is always an option as well.

Landlords: have any experience with short-term rentals? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Renters: having trouble finding something in Toronto for less than a 1-year lease? I’d love to hear your stories.

Other thoughts or questions? Leave me a comment or email me.