Toronto neighbourhoods where its better to rent a condo

Toronto neighbourhoods where it’s better to rent a condo

By Zoocasa

Good news for renters: It’s cheaper to rent a condo than to buy one in Toronto’s prime neighbourhoods.

The bad news: rent is still high and unlikely to ease anytime soon. In fact, as long as vacancy rates remain at a historic low, at below 1 per cent, rent is actually set to rise.

The Toronto Real Estate Board’s (TREB) Q2 rental report says that bachelor units rented through MLS now go for $1,716, an increase of 10.6 per cent year-over-year. That’s the least expensive way to rent a condo and the only type of unit available for under $2,000. One-bedroom units now go for $2,055, a 10.4 per-cent increase. If you’d like to split costs with a roommate, have a baby or simply desire more space, you’re looking at $2,755 for a two-bedroom or $3,460 for a three-bedroom. 

TREB President Garry Bhaura says that with demand for rentals steadily increasing, more needs to be done at the policy level to ensure supply is available and remains affordable for Toronto residents.

“The demand for condominium apartment rentals remained strong compared to the number of units available for rent. Current market conditions point to the fact that renters have little choice when it comes to finding a place to live,” he says.

“Governments need to look at ways to increase the supply of rental accommodation, both in terms for purpose-built rental properties and individual investor-held units. This would go a long way to easing the pace of rent growth in the GTA.”

If you want cheaper rent, you may want to leave the Toronto for other cities in Ontario such as, Ottawa or London. Both these cities have robust job markets with a much lower cost of living. Ottawa real estate shows that the average rent for a two-bedroom condo is around $1,600. Homes for sale in London, Ontario are so inexpensive that landlords can afford to rent them out on the cheap. In fact, two-bedroom condos in London are the cheapest anywhere in Ontario, going for around $1,000.

But we understand if you’re determined to stay in Toronto.

Zoocasa looked at the average monthly rent and average condo price in each City of Toronto neighbourhood. According to the calculations, it makes more financial sense from a monthly payment perspective to rent rather than buy in 14 of the neighbourhoods studied.

It’s better to rent in all neighbourhoods along the spine of the city including across downtown and the entertainment district, Yorkville, Annex, Summerhill and Forest Hill.

Renting versus buying in these neighbourhoods can save you from $51 per month in downtown and the entertainment district, all the way up to $1,272 in Rosedale and Moore Park.

But buying has the potential to increase your cash flow if you’re renting on the outskirts surrounding the city, like in North York, Etobicoke or Scarborough.

Check out the infographic for a full map of where it’s cheaper to rent than buy and how much doing so will save you per month: