A new study examining the cost of rent across the country indicates a downward trend in parts of Ontario, including Toronto, and some experts say renewed supply is what caused that dip.
A recent report from Kijiji reveals a small decrease in rent prices in numerous neighbourhoods, including Liberty Village, London’s Huron Heights and Hamilton’s Beasley, Landsdale and Stiply areas.
Kijiji examined all long-term rentals from January to March 2024, with an advertised asking rent between $400 and $15,000 then broke down the rental data by province, city, and number of bedrooms.
According to the survey, Liberty Village’s monthly rent decreased by $200 year-over-year, while Huron Heights in London’s monthly rent decreased by $405, and the Beasley, Landsdale, and Stiply areas of Hamilton’s monthly rent decreased by $440.
The average cost of rent in Toronto for a basement apartment in the first quarter of this year was $1,800 according to Kijiji. A main floor apartment went for $2,250 on average, a condo, for $2,500 and a house for $3,000.
Vancouver was the most expensive city to in rent overall, followed by Toronto, Hamilton and Halifax.
Kijiji also found that renting with two roommates in places like Toronto, Halifax and Guelph can save a person up to $9,000.
Similarly, renting with one roommate or a partner can save at least $5,000 per year in 13 of 15 of Canada’s top student cities.
WHERE IS TORONTO’S RENTAL MARKET HEADED?
Toronto real estate broker Bethany King told Now Toronto that the city’s rental market has seen a marked shift over the past year, noting a surge in rental listings caused by a substantial increase in inventory.
“Rental listings have risen by 49.3 per cent compared to last year,” she said.
Nonetheless, according to King, the average rental price of a one bedroom apartment has decreased by only one percent, while total apartment rentals are up by 19.7 per cent compared to this time last year.
Moreover, despite some price reductions to get units off the market quickly King doesn’t expect to see significant drops in prices for older rental units.
“This is primarily due to rent control regulations for units built prior to 2018, which limit rent increases to 2.5 per cent per year. Many landlords are already supplementing their carrying costs on these investments, making further price drops unlikely,” King explained.
King has also witnessed renters either opting to leave the city altogether or move to the downtown core, which she says is driven largely by the amount of construction and transit disruptions happening across Toronto.
“As a realtor actively working in the field, I’ve noticed that more people are deciding to move completely out of the city to avoid the traffic and commuting challenges,” she said.
“Conversely, some are opting to live in the downtown core to eliminate the need for commuting altogether,” King explained.
Amrit Walia, a sales representative for real estate brokerage Royal LePage told Now Toronto that he doesn’t expect to see any drastic shifts in the rental market in the next 12 to 18 months, and attributed the completion of new residential buildings for the slight dip in Toronto rental prices.
“We’ve got 15 to 20 new buildings which were delivered in the market,” he said.
“But down the line, things might change,” he continued, because right now we’re not building as much, he said, implying that the renewed supply can only sustain demand for so long.
