For what may be the first time in decades, buying property in and around Toronto is not guaranteed to be lucrative, with real estate sales at rock-bottom lows, homes withering away on the market and likely to sell for less than asking price, and rent prices plummeting fast.
The latest rental data from markets across the country, released by Urbanation and Rentals.ca this week, shows just how much rates in perennially competitive Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario are falling compared to the rest of the country, where prices are mostly on the up-and-up.
Though still ranked the third most-expensive major city for tenants in Canada, Toronto’s average apartment is now 7.1 per cent cheaper than it was a year ago, and is even down slightly from just one month ago, which itself marked a low not seen in years.
The 20 priciest major hubs to rent a purpose-built apartment or condo in Canada, and how prices have changed. Chart from Urbanation and Rentals.ca.
Rates are also declining in a handful of other Ontario locales, including Mississauga, Etobicoke, Guelph, Ottawa, London and Kingston, which all reported declines in one- and two-bedroom rent prices both year-over-year and month-over-month, based on these newly-released numbers.
Ontario overall is seeing the biggest decreases in overall rents out of any province, with reductions of between 4 per cent (for bachelor and three-bedroom units) and 8 per cent (for two-bedrooms) in December 2024, while all other parts of the country, save for B.C., saw prices move in the other direction.
Average rents across property sizes in Saskatchewan, for example, rose by a whopping 12 per cent from December 2023 to December 2024. The same figure increased by 8 per cent in both Atlantic Canada and Manitoba, and 4 per cent in Alberta. B.C.’s overall declines were a mere -2 per cent, compared to Ontario’s -6 per cent.
Looking at the numbers by province. Chart from Urbanation and Rentals.ca.
Toronto was also found to be home to the most drastic reduction in asking rents for shared accommodation, with the typical room in a shared space now going for $1,194, or 9 per cent cheaper than a year ago.
Meanwhile, the majority of condo investors in the GTA are now losing money on new units, with mortgage payments paired with surging maintenance fees and property taxes outpacing the rent they can earn to float their purchase.
Horror stories from landlords who have been unable to hold delinquent tenants accountable through the province’s failing Landlord and Tenant Board also aren’t encouraging to anyone looking to rent a property out at the moment.
