Renting in Toronto? Be prepared to pay extra: realtor

Renting in GTA as competitive as owning An expert says it is now becoming common to see multiple offers on rentals leading to bidding wars in the GTA.

Renting a home in the Greater Toronto Area is now as competitive as owning and those looking to rent need to be prepared to offer more than what is being asked, according to one Toronto real estate agent.

Amrit Walia, a realtor with Royal LePage, said he sees a lot of bidding wars with prospective tenants offering $50 to $150 over asking.

"If there is a multiple offer situation, I tell [my clients] the situation that there are like two or three more offers. If they really love the place they should go ahead and do like 50 bucks [over asking]," told CTV News Toronto.

He said any more than that is not worth it.

And that competitiveness is pushing prices up, according to the Toronto Region Real Estate Board (TRREB).

Data from TRREB shows that average rental prices for a one-bedroom condo in the GTA rose 17.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 to $2,145 a month.

For a two-bedroom condo, the average was up 17.2 percent to over $2,800 a month.

Moreover, Jason Mercer from TRREB believes we aren't at the peak.

"We're approaching the pre-pandemic peak and we certainly expect to reach that as we move through 2022," Mercer explained.

Mercer said rental units took a big hit during the pandemic, and this is recovery.

Just as interest rates are on the rise, making it harder to buy a home, Walia said that creates more competitiveness in the rental market.

"When the interest rates go up, the buyer who was about to buy a place, they put their decision on hold, and those buyers get into the rental pool as well," he said.

On the supply side, according to TRREB, the total number of rentals was actually down 23 per cent in the first quarter of this year, making supply a big issue.

With no relief in sight, renters should expect to pay more through the end of the year.