TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 18, 2012) - Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 3,804 leased condominium apartment transactions in the first quarter of 2012, up 11 per cent from the 3,442 units rented during the first three months of 2011. The number of condominium apartments listed for rent on the TorontoMLS system during the first quarter was also up, but by a lesser four per cent to 7,096 units.
"There have been very few purpose-built rental buildings completed in the GTA over the past few years. This means that households looking to rent an apartment with modern finishes and amenities have been focusing on condominium apartments rented out by investor owners," said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver.
"Condominium apartment vacancy rates, as reported by CMHC, were down in 2011 and it looks as if this trend is continuing with growth in lease transactions outstripping growth in listings," continued Silver.
Average one-bedroom and two-bedroom condominium apartment rents increased at annual rates above inflation, at four and seven per cent respectively.
"Tighter rental market conditions played a key role in the strong annual average rent increases. However, a lot of condominium apartment projects were completed over the last year. Some owners chose to list their units for rent. Newly completed units benefitting from the latest trends in finishes and amenities could have arguably commanded higher rents compared to older units. This factor likely played a role in strong year-over-year average rent increases as well," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
Rental Market Summary: First Quarter 2012
| Apartments1,2,3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| All Bedroom Types | Bachelor | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | |||||||||||||||
| Listed | Leased | Leased | Avg. Rent | Leased | Avg. Rent | Leased | Avg. Rent | Leased | Avg. Rent | ||||||||||
| Q1 2012 | 7,096 | 3,804 | 96 | $1,306 | 2,111 | $1,538 | 1,522 | $2,089 | 75 | $2,079 | |||||||||
| Q1 2011 | 6,829 | 3,442 | 76 | $1,220 | 1,839 | $1,484 | 1,445 | $1,957 | 82 | $2,442 | |||||||||
| Yr./Yr. % Chg. | 4% | 11% | 26% | 7% | 15% | 4% | 5% | 7% | -9% | -15% | |||||||||
| Townhouses1,2,3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| All Bedroom Types | Bachelor | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | |||||||||||||||
| Listed | Leased | Leased | Avg. Rent | Leased | Avg. Rent | Leased | Avg. Rent | Leased | Avg. Rent | ||||||||||
| Q1 2012 | 603 | 276 | 3 | $1,263 | 34 | $1,403 | 73 | $1,696 | 166 | $1,933 | |||||||||
| Q1 2011 | 556 | 206 | 0 | - | 20 | $1,374 | 49 | $1,647 | 137 | $1,830 | |||||||||
| Yr./Yr. % Chg. | 8% | 34% | - | - | 70% | 2% | 49% | 3% | 21% | 6% | |||||||||
| 1Refers to the total number of rental units that were available during the reporting period. |
| 2Refers to firm lease transactions entered in the TorontoMLS system between the first and last day of the reporting period. |
| 3Refers to the average lease rate for firm lease transactions entered in the TorontoMLS system between the first and last day of the reporting period. |
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Contact Information:
Toronto Real Estate Board
Mary Gallagher
Senior Manager Public Affairs
(416) 443-8158
maryg@trebnet.com