Renting in Toronto? Be prepared to pay extra: realtor
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
U.S. Capitol riot: More people turn up with evidence against Donald Trump
More witnesses are coming forward with new details on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot following former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's devastating testimony last week against former U.S. President Donald Trump, says a member of a U.S. House committee investigating the insurrection.
'He was a hero': Family says Ottawa man killed in fatal collision sacrificed himself
The family of an Ottawa man killed in a Canada Day crash in the west end says Tom Bergeron died exactly as he lived: selflessly thinking of others before himself.
Dog left with lost baggage at Toronto Pearson Airport for about 21 hours
A Toronto woman says a dog she rescued from the Dominican Republic has been traumatized after being left in a corner of Toronto Pearson International Airport with baggage for about 21 hours.
Chinese-Canadian tycoon due to stand trial in China, embassy says
Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua, who went missing in Hong Kong five years ago, was due to go on trial in China on Monday, the Canadian embassy in Beijing said.
'Hell on earth': Ukrainian soldiers describe life on eastern front
Torched forests and cities burned to the ground. Colleagues with severed limbs. Bombardments so relentless the only option is to lie in a trench, wait and pray. Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, where Russia is waging a fierce offensive, describe life during what has turned into a gruelling war of attrition as apocalyptic.
Video shows police in Ohio kill Black man in hail of gunfire
A Black man was unarmed when Akron police chased him on foot and killed him in a hail of gunfire, but officers believed he had shot at them earlier from a vehicle and feared he was preparing to fire again, authorities said Sunday at a news conference.
N.S. woman calls for private fireworks regulation after her dog dies 'scared and alone'
Canada Day weekend fireworks have sparked more calls to either regulate or ban backyard fireworks displays in Nova Scotia.
Shooting at Williams Lake, B.C. stampede injures 2, forces evacuation
Two people are injured and a third is in custody after what RCMP describe as a 'public shooting' at a rodeo in B.C. Sunday.
Dutch farmers block entrances to supermarket warehouses
Dutch farmers angry at government plans to slash emissions used tractors and trucks Monday to block roads and supermarket distribution centers, sparking fears of store food shortages in the latest actions through a summer of discontent in the country's lucrative agricultural sector.
Montreal
-
Hundreds of firefighters battling blaze started by explosion on Montreal's South Shore
More than dozen fire trucks from municipalities across Montreal's South Shore are battling a major fire at an industrial produce building on Monday morning.
-
Montreal-area gas prices dip below $2-per-litre
Prices at the gas pumps dropped from record highs by almost 20 cents and dipped below $2 for the first time in months in the Greater Montreal Area over the weekend.
-
Montreal conservation group angered after Monarch butterfly fields mowed
A Montreal conservation group is baffled and frustrated after a field of shrubs, flowers, and, importantly, milkweed was mowed.
London
-
Apartment fire in London, Ont.
London firefighters were called to an apartment fire south of the Hyde Park area.
-
Vacant south London DQ goes up in flames, again
London police have been called in to investigate a fire at the vacant Dairy Queen on Wharncliffe Road in London.
-
Hot humid temperatures continue through the London region
Warm temperatures continue through the London area this week with the chance of some relief from the dryness on Tuesday
Kitchener
-
Gun call prompts police response at Kitchener encampment
Police were called to a Kitchener encampment on Saturday after they received a report of a disturbance involving a gun.
-
Driveway paved without permission needs to be ripped up, says Puslinch, Ont. homeowner
A Puslinch, Ont. woman says her driveway will need to be repaved less than month after she came home to find strangers working on it without her prior consent.
-
Justin Bieber's family member allegedly involved in fiery Stratford crash
A fiery crash shut down a Stratford street on Tuesday and witnesses tell CTV News one of Justin Bieber's family members was allegedly involved.
Northern Ontario
-
OPP charge two people after June shooting on Manitoulin Island.
Ontario Provincial Police have arrested and charged two people in connection with a June 24th shooting where one person died.
-
Dog left with lost baggage at Toronto Pearson Airport for about 21 hours
A Toronto woman says a dog she rescued from the Dominican Republic has been traumatized after being left in a corner of Toronto Pearson International Airport with baggage for about 21 hours.
-
Man still looking for his bags at Toronto Pearson airport 16 days after arriving in the city
As unclaimed luggage continue to pile up at Pearson International Airport, one local resident has been looking for his bags for 16 days after arriving in Toronto.
Ottawa
-
'He was a hero': Family says Ottawa man killed in fatal collision sacrificed himself
The family of an Ottawa man killed in a Canada Day crash in the west end says Tom Bergeron died exactly as he lived: selflessly thinking of others before himself.
-
Man, 65, dies in ATV crash near Bancroft, Ont.
A 65-year-old man was killed in an ATV crash near Bancroft, Ont. on Sunday.
-
City manager kicks off final week of testimony at the Ottawa LRT public inquiry
City Manager Steve Kanellakos is taking the stand at the public inquiry into Ottawa's light rail transit system this morning, as the final four days of testimony begins at the University of Ottawa.
Windsor
-
Big week for Windsor International Airport as Flair Airlines launches new direct flights
Flair Airlines is getting ready to take off out of Windsor International Airport this week.
-
CK police report knife pulled on drug store manager
A Tilbury man is charged after pulling a knife on an employee at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Chatham, according to police.
-
Mall gunman acted alone, attack likely not terror-related, Danish police say
Danish police believe a shopping mall shooting that left three people dead and four others seriously wounded was not terror-related. They said Monday that the gunman acted alone and appears to have selected his victims at random.
Barrie
-
Janeiro's cold case trial begins today
Katherine Janeiro was found stabbed to death in her apartment at 258 Dunlop Street West on Mon., Oct. 10, 1994. More than a quarter of a century later, Barrie police charged a 58-year-old Barrie man on Jan. 13, 2021, for the 20-year-old’s death.
-
Two of three Manitoulin Island shooting suspects caught
Two people have been arrested after a shooting left a 32-year-old man dead on Manitoulin Island June 24.
-
Firefighters battle blaze at two Barrie homes
Firefighters battled a large house fire in Barrie's north end that spread to a second home.
Atlantic
-
'There should have been one': N.S. mother drives son to ER after waiting nearly an hour for ambulance
A Nova Scotia mother says she had to drive her son to hospital herself on Canada Day when no ambulance showed up after more than 40 minutes.
-
N.S. woman calls for private fireworks regulation after her dog dies 'scared and alone'
Canada Day weekend fireworks have sparked more calls to either regulate or ban backyard fireworks displays in Nova Scotia.
-
'Incompetent': New Brunswick cabinet minister blasts Air Canada for cancellation
New Brunswick's education minister is lashing out at Air Canada, saying the airline is incompetent because it decided on the weekend to cancel a Monday flight that would have taken him and four officials to a meeting in Regina.
Calgary
-
WEATHER
WEATHER | Another rainy day in Calgary, warming through the week
Warming, yet unsettled weather in Calgary this week.
-
Albertans rally in support of women impacted by decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
Hundreds of people gathered Sunday afternoon in Calgary and Edmonton to support women impacted by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end constitutional protections for abortion.
-
Police investigating after body discovered in alleyway Sunday morning
Calgary police are investigating after a body was discovered Sunday morning in Upper Mount Royal by someone out walking their dog.
Winnipeg
-
Victim of stabbing at The Forks had just moved to Winnipeg from Ukraine
A Ukrainian refugee living in Winnipeg for two weeks was the victim of a Canada Day stabbing at The Forks.
-
Ukrainian refugee family ready to start new life in Manitoba
A Ukrainian refugee is excited to begin a new life in Manitoba after escaping the war in Ukraine with her family and reuniting with her sister in Winnipeg Sunday.
-
'He was a hero': Family says Ottawa man killed in fatal collision sacrificed himself
The family of an Ottawa man killed in a Canada Day crash in the west end says Tom Bergeron died exactly as he lived: selflessly thinking of others before himself.
Vancouver
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING | Former B.C. clerk of the legislature Craig James to be sentenced
One of the biggest spending scandals in the history of B.C. politics is expected to reach its final chapter Monday.
-
'Everyone is broke': Beloved East Vancouver diner closing its doors
An East Vancouver restaurant that describes itself as a place where "omnivores, carnivores, vegans, vegetarians and celiacs can all dine together" will be closing its doors this month, citing the ongoing financial fallout from the pandemic.
-
Shooting at Williams Lake, B.C. stampede injures 2, forces evacuation
Two people are injured and a third is in custody after what RCMP describe as a 'public shooting' at a rodeo in B.C. Sunday.
Edmonton
-
'It went through my daughter's room': Bullets hit southeast Edmonton home
A southeast Edmonton family is stunned after two bullets hit their home Saturday, with one narrowly missing a young girl's bedroom.
-
'Be prepared for delays at any point': Canada not flying alone in worldwide travel chaos
As Canadian airports deal with their own set of problems amid the busy summer travel season, by no means are they alone.
-
Pope Francis denies he's planning to resign soon
Pope Francis has dismissed reports that he plans to resign in the near future, saying he is on track to visit Canada this month and hopes to be able to go to Moscow and Kyiv as soon as possible after that.