As the Toronto area's vaccination rollout continues, daily case counts improve, and the region opens up further, average rents throughout the Greater Toronto Area continue to improve after months of declines.
For the third straight month in a row, average rents for all property types in the GTA rose in June, up 0.9% month-over-month to $2,017, according to the latest Bullpen Research & Consulting and TorontoRentals.com Toronto GTA Rent Report.
However, despite the recent monthly increases, the average monthly rent in the GTA was still around $200 lower (9%) than a year ago and more than $440 off the average monthly rent at the market peak ($2,461) in November 2019.
Though, Bullpen Research & Consulting expects that rent growth in the GTA will continue through the fall and forecasts double-digit growth in 2022.
Bullpen Research & Consulting and TorontoRentals.com, June 2021
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According to the report, demand in the York Region and Durham Region municipalities have picked up, as well as in the central downtown area, as workers prepare to return to the office. However, amid the spur of demand, the report says incentives at higher-end buildings are starting to be reduced or eliminated as demand picks up.
Of 13 cities and areas of the GTA with significant rental activity on Torontorentals.com, seven experienced average quarterly rent increases in the second quarter ending in June.
Richmond Hill experienced the largest quarterly increase in average monthly rental rates, increasing by 12.4%, with Pickering up 10.3%, and Markham and Vaughan rising 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively. On the other hand, North York and Ajax had the largest quarter-over-quarter declines, down by 2% and 1.4%, respectively.
“Many of our clients are indicating strong demand in York Region and downtown Toronto, as tenants prepare for a return to the office and are snapping up suites in proximity to the largest employment centres in the GTA," said Matt Danison, CEO of Rentals.ca.
When looking at Toronto's downtown core, the largest increase in average monthly rental rates occurred in Corso-Italia up 22.8% to $2,078, Trinity-Bellwoods, up 12.9% to $2,407, and Dufferin Grove up 11.2% to $2,322.
“The neighbourhoods with low levels of new condo construction experienced over the past decade have seen the biggest increases in rent in 2021 in the city of Toronto," said Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research & Consulting. "Desirable communities with a lack of supply have been the first to recover during the pandemic.”
As for the downtown core's lowest average monthly rents in the second quarter, Cabbagetown-South St. James Town reached $1,700, down 1% quarterly, trailing behind South Parkdale at $1,780, up 0.9% and North St. James Town at $1,850, down 3.8%.
All this to say, if you've been thinking about moving downtown, now seems like the ideal time to start looking before prices start to really rise in the fall.
