Renting in Toronto? Be prepared to pay extra: realtor
Renting a home in the Greater Toronto Area is now as competitive as owning and those looking to rent need to be prepared to offer more than what is being asked, according to one Toronto real estate agent.
Amrit Walia, a realtor with Royal LePage, said he sees a lot of bidding wars with prospective tenants offering $50 to $150 over asking.
"If there is a multiple offer situation, I tell [my clients] the situation that there are like two or three more offers. If they really love the place they should go ahead and do like 50 bucks [over asking]," told CTV News Toronto.
He said any more than that is not worth it.
And that competitiveness is pushing prices up, according to the Toronto Region Real Estate Board (TRREB).
Data from TRREB shows that average rental prices for a one-bedroom condo in the GTA rose 17.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 to $2,145 a month.
For a two-bedroom condo, the average was up 17.2 percent to over $2,800 a month.
Moreover, Jason Mercer from TRREB believes we aren't at the peak.
"We're approaching the pre-pandemic peak and we certainly expect to reach that as we move through 2022," Mercer explained.
Mercer said rental units took a big hit during the pandemic, and this is recovery.
Just as interest rates are on the rise, making it harder to buy a home, Walia said that creates more competitiveness in the rental market.
"When the interest rates go up, the buyer who was about to buy a place, they put their decision on hold, and those buyers get into the rental pool as well," he said.
On the supply side, according to TRREB, the total number of rentals was actually down 23 per cent in the first quarter of this year, making supply a big issue.
With no relief in sight, renters should expect to pay more through the end of the year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.