Condo investors in the Greater Toronto Area are seeing strong gains in rents according to a new report.
Urbanation says that average monthly rents for condo leases signed in Q2-2018 grew by 11.2% year-over-year to $2,302 based on an average unit size rented of 732 sf.
It was also the first time that per square foot rents have surpassed $3.00, reaching $3.14 psf, an 8.7% annual rise.
However, leasing activity was at its lowest 12-month rate in three years with an exceptionally tight market meaning a total of 25,955 units leased through the MLS.
The share of condos that changed hands in the rental market was at a five-year low of 7.8% of the entire stock of GTA condos.
Construction rise
New purpose-built rental construction surged in Q2, with 2,635 starts recorded during the quarter, raising the total inventory under construction to 11,073 units — the highest in at least 30 years.
During Q2-2018, new applications totaling 5,920 units were proposed for purpose-built rental development, nearly 3.5 times greater than the number of new units proposed a year ago during Q2-2017.
Steve Randall has more than three decades of media experience encompassing online, newspapers, magazines, radio, and podcasts. He focuses on insights and news for professionals in finance, real estate, and legal services. Steve writes for multiple Key Media titles in Canada, United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
