Toronto Rental Market

Whether furnished or unfurnished, downtown or GTA, house or condo, the pandemic had a huge effect on the Toronto rental market. Executive travel became obsolete as the shift to work from home became the new normal, non essential travel stopped, borders closed and new screening measures were put in place to limit the spread of Covid-19. There is no denying that these past two years have been tough on most, including the Canadian Landlord. 

What happened to the furnished and unfurnished rentals?

Unfurnished and Long Term Tenants:

When all the perks of downtown living were no longer something that they could enjoy, tenants fled the city to seek out cheaper rents in the surrounding areas or were financially motivated to move back home to live with family. Some tenants managed to stay and negotiate lower rents, accelerating the already plummeting rental market. The worst came in winter 2021 when rates were down almost 15% over the same months in 2019. The last time rates were this low was 2017, 5 years earlier. 

Furnished and Short Term Tenants: 

Furnished and short term rentals took the hardest hit. Toronto is the largest and most visited city in Canada and suffered a significant reduction in short term rental requirements. As business travel waned and non essential travel restrictions were set into place, a huge downward shift in demand for rentals came to a head.

Before COVID, the greatest demand for furnished accommodations came from domestic travel; homeowners living in the area and going through home renovations, separations, and people affected by fire or flood. There was also some international business travel mostly in the film/tv sectors. During COVID, condos became less attractive and houses gained in popularity due to their private entrances and exclusive use of outdoor space.

Condo owners saw rental rates drop by 20%-30%, while single family home rentals (with no shared spaces) were largely unaffected. Condo owners were forced to significantly drop their rental rates to remain competitive, and some were even forced to sell.

What is on the horizon: 

For those who managed to hold on to their investment properties, there appear to be bright skies ahead. The pandemic has resulted in a shortage of rentals and more recently, demand has begun to bounce back. This lack of rental property inventory has resulted in increased competition amongst potential renters, shorter number of days on market, less vacancies and increased rental rates. 

For tenants: Make sure you have all your paperwork ready to submit for when you find your next dream property! Great properties that are well priced will be taken quickly and could even be in a multiple offer situation! Come ready with a tenant application form fully completed with previous landlord & professional references, letter of employment, and recent credit report.

To find out how much your home is worth, contact Urban Dwell at 647-237-1962 for a FREE comparable market analysis.