Rental markets are showing increasing weakness

Murtaza Haider writes in the Financial Post about the weakening rental housing markets. See the URL below for the column.

https://financialpost.com/real-estate/listings-skyrocket-while-leases-are-up-and-rents-are-down-making-sense-of-the-complex-covid-rental-market?

“Rental markets are showing signs of weakness, with rents falling and vacancies climbing, particularly in and around the downtown cores.

“From Manhattan to Toronto, and San Francisco to Vancouver, rental markets are transacting at a discount, which is what many of those priced out of centrally located communities need to find digs in choice neighbourhoods.

“Take the Greater Toronto Area. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was down by 11.1 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to the recently released Q3 rental market report by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

“The recent shift could be troubling for landlords that have enjoyed years of escalating rents and falling vacancy rates, but the decline in average rents has brought many new renters to the market. Apartment rentals in the third quarter were up by 30.2 per cent from a year earlier.”