Edmonton named the best city for Toronto residents to 'rentvest'

If you're looking to break into the Toronto housing market but saving up enough for a down payment feels out of reach, it turns out there is a lucrative way to save enough to buy your first home: becoming a landlord.

Real estate platform Zoocasa suggests Toronto residents "rentvest" in Canadian cities by purchasing a property in a more affordable city and renting it out to earn investment income while simultaneously renting in a more expensive city, but one where they prefer to live.

Zoocasa calculated the maximum mortgage amount that an average income in the GTA could afford and then analyzed average condo prices across Canada. It compared the average rent and mortgage payment in each location to determine where Torontonians could afford to buy and where they would potentially be profitable.

"After a few years of earning monthly income from your tenants and building equity in your investment property, you can sell it and use the gains for a down payment on a home in your desired city," Zoocasa wrote.

So, where are the best cities for Toronto residents to park their money? It turns out the Prairies are pretty popular.

According to Zoocasa, a homebuyer with an average annual income (of $62,050) in Toronto can comfortably afford a mortgage of up to $275,402.

That means they could afford to buy a condo in Edmonton, Regina, St. John's, Saskatoon, Saint John, Winnipeg, and Calgary, all of which have mortgages below $275,000.

Of those cities, Edmonton and Regina are the two most affordable, with average condo prices of $163,452 and $183,630, respectively.

Chart of the best cities for people from Toronto to "rentvest in" within Canada, according to Zoocasa.

The platform wrote that Edmonton offers the "highest profit potential," with an average rent of $1,553 and an average monthly mortgage payment of just $886.

Calgary was the next best option, with an average rent of $1,954 and an average monthly mortgage payment of $1,480.

Edmonton's rent prices have soared in 2024, landing it among the top three Canadian cities with the largest annual one-bedroom rent hikes, which has caused anxiety for renters.