Posted Sep 9, 2020, 5:09 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 22,285
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Changing City
Does this mean the rental housing 'crisis' is (at least temporarily) solved?
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It certainly seems as though it is having an effect in opening up rentals and lowering rents:
Rental demand takes another hit as many students stay home
MATT LUNDYECONOMICS REPORTER
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 8, 2020
Rental housing markets across Canada are seeing weaker demand this fall as some postsecondary students pivot to online learning and stay in their hometowns, resulting in a spate of empty bedrooms and mounting losses for landlords.
Although policies differ by college or university, most have adopted a hybrid approach for the fall semester that allows a combination of online and in-person classes, with restrictions in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19. In many cases, however, students have the option of attending classes entirely online – and that has kept many from renting.
Demand from students “has completely dried up,” says Sara Hamilton, a real estate broker who frequently leases condos. Before the pandemic, most of her leasing activity in downtown Toronto came from students. “Now, there’s no interest from students at all.”
The student slowdown is contributing to broader weakness in the rental market, which has seen demand tumble during the pandemic. As a result, many units are sitting empty for longer and often get rented for less. For tenants in Canada’s priciest housing markets, the situation is a reprieve from years of low vacancies and surging rental rates...
...Rental demand is being hit on several fronts, including pandemic policies that are slowing immigration into Canada, including by international students. In the Greater Toronto Area, international students and other non-permanent residents are “very tied to what’s going on in the condo market” and play a huge role in rentals, says John Pasalis, president of brokerage Realosophy Realty.
The number of newly listed condos for lease in the GTA reached a record high in August as supply outpaced demand, according to data from consulting firm Urbanation. The average condo rent declined 9.6 per cent from a year ago, to $2,272 a month. Data from multiple listing platforms show rents declining in Vancouver, too.
The shift is apparent to brokers. Ms. Guirguis says NV tried to lease a new studio in downtown Toronto that before the pandemic would go for $2,100 a month. Given the condo is furnished and close to Ryerson University, it would normally appeal to students. Instead, it took six months to fill – and for $300 cheaper.
“On a regular day, at an $1,800 price point, I would have had a lineup,” Ms. Guirguis says...(bold mine)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/busi...ost-secondary/
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