This is the most active area for condo rentals in Toronto
By Newinhomes on Apr 16, 2019
Are you considering renting for longer because of the high condo prices in the Greater Toronto Area? Well, it looks like condo rental rates in the GTA didn’t get much more affordable compared to the end of 2018.
The joint report from Bullpen Research & Consulting and Rentals.ca compares first-quarter GTA condo rental market figures to the final quarter of 2018. Rents only fluctuated by a few cents across the board. The average GTA condo rent on Rentals.ca was $3.23 per square foot in the first quarter, which is one cent below the fourth quarter of 2018.
The smaller the space, the more you’re paying per square foot. Rent for a condo studio dropped 2% to $4.44 psf, but it’s still the most expensive on a psf basis. The average rent for a one-bedroom was $3.71 psf. Two-bedrooms ended the quarter with an average of $3.10 psf, and the average rent for a three-bedroom condo was $2.74 psf.
One of the most affordable municipalities in the GTA was Richmond Hill with an average condo rent of $2.57 psf. Markham followed closely with an average of $2.59 psf.
Condo rentals in Toronto
Looking at the City of Toronto, you won’t be surprised to see that average rents were slightly higher than the GTA as a whole. The average psf rent increased by only one cent compared to the previous quarter up to $3.82.A studio condo rental in Toronto averaged $4.54 psf (and averaged 452 square feet in size). The average rent for a one-bedroom condo was $3.95 psf, while two-bedrooms averaged $3.51 psf. A whopping 77% of the listings in Toronto on Rentals.ca were one-bedroom condos during the first quarter, averaging 615 square feet and $2,401 a month.
The most active postal code in Toronto was the M5V area, which is the Entertainment District. While this was the most active area, average rent did drop from $4.09 to $4.05 psf. A few of the most active condo projects on Rentals.ca were in this area, and included Bisha Hotel & Residences ($4.92 psf), Noir (87 Peter) ($4.71 psf), and Smart House ($4.57) near Queen and University.
The second most active area was M5A (downtown east), where the average rent increased 6% to $3.67. The most expensive rental area in Toronto was M5H (Adelaide and Bay) where the average psf rent was $5.37.
With strong condo sales in the GTA over the last few years, construction is steady, especially in Toronto. Thousands of condo units are expected to hit the resale and rental markets this year, so it will be interesting to see how this spike in supply impacts average rents.
