Supply crunch leads to soaring rent for Toronto condos

There's good news and bad news for prospective condo renters in Toronto. While recent measures taken by the provincial government will keep the rent of occupied condos from rising more than 2.5 percent a year, monthly rates for newly listed units continues to soar.

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board's first quarter report, the average rent for a one bedroom condo has reached $1,791, which is up 7.8 per cent from the same period last year. Two bedroom units have reached an average of $2,432, which is a 6.8 per cent increase.

With only a one per cent increase in condo rentals made available since this time last year, the supply of these units still lags well behind the demand.

“As the population and, by extension, number of households continues to grow in the Greater Toronto Area, the demand for housing increases. Some of this demand is pointed at the rental market, including condominium apartments," explains TREB President Larry Cerqua.

"The problem is that the supply of units available for rent has not kept up with demand, leading to more competition between renters and strong upward pressure on average rents.”

Some analysts are concerned that the very measures designed to protect condo renters may in fact jeopardize them in the long run should they lead to even lowered supply, though the provincial government has also outlined actions to increase available housing across the board.