NEWS RELEASE



TREB Releases Rental Market Figures AS Reported By GTA REALTORS®

TORONTO, January 22, 2018 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Tim Syrianos announced that average rents for one-bedroom and two-bedroom condominium apartment rents were up very strongly on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2017, based on transactions reported by Greater Toronto REALTORS® through TREB's MLS® System.

The average rent for one-bedroom condominium apartments in the TREB market area was up by 10.9 per cent on an annual basis to $1,970 in Q4 2017. The average two-bedroom condominium apartment rent was up by 8.8 per cent over the same period to $2,627.

"As the population in the GTA continues to grow, so too does the demand for rental accommodation. The problem is that rental supply has not kept up with the increase in demand in recent years. The result has been low vacancy rates and intense competition between renters for available units. This competition has underpinned very strong growth in average rents," said Mr. Syrianos.

The number of condominium apartments listed during the fourth quarter was down by 3.4 per cent compared to Q4 2016. The number of units leased was down by 0.7 per cent. Because the vacancy rate was less than one per cent for condominium apartments in the fall of 2017, a dip in the number of apartments listed for rent translated through into a dip in the number of lease agreements signed.

"Looking forward, we continue to have concerns that rent control legislation announced in conjunction with the Ontario Fair Housing Plan will preclude additional rental supply coming on stream, both in the purpose-built and investor-held condominium apartment segments. Going further, it is possible that current owners of condominium apartments could choose to list their units for sale to take advantage of recent price gains rather than rent their units to tenants under the new rent control regime," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.

 

Rental Market Summary: Fourth Quarter 2017

Apartments

All Bedroom Types

Bachelor

One-Bedroom

Two-Bedroom

Three-Bedroom

Listed

Leased

Leased

Avg. Rent

Leased

Avg. Rent

Leased

Avg. Rent

Leased

Avg. Rent

Q4 2017

9,184

5,668

201

$1,670

3,264

$1,970

2,053

$2,627

150

$3,524

Q4 2016

9,508

5,710

226

$1,512

3,375

$1,776

1,986

$2,415

123

$3,283

Yr./Yr. % Chg.

-3.4%

-0.7%

-11.1%

10.5%

-3.3%

10.9%

3.4%

8.8%

22.0%

7.4%

Townhouses

All Bedroom Types

Bachelor

One-Bedroom

Two-Bedroom

Three-Bedroom

Listed

Leased

Leased

Avg. Rent

Leased

Avg. Rent

Leased

Avg. Rent

Leased

Avg. Rent

Q4 2017

911

460

3

$1,458

44

$1,726

173

$2,115

240

$2,301

Q4 2016

849

438

2

$1,475

44

$1,669

177

$1,981

215

$2,287

Yr./Yr. % Chg.

7.3%

5.0%

50.0%

-1.1%

0.0%

3.4%

-2.3%

6.8%

11.6%

0.7%

Source: Toronto Real Estate Board