Ottawa Condo Rentals up almost 40% in 2014

[MattRichling]

...Ottawa condo rentals, seeing 1,044 units leased through the MLS in 2014, which is up 37% over 2013 and 79% over 2012. The condo market is a healthy portion of the total rentals across the city, accounting for 41% of the 2,551 rentals for of all residential property types in 2014. Total residential rentals are up 22% from the 2,091 in 2013, and 53% from the 1,664 in 2012.

The average rent for an Ottawa condo did not see much change dropping from $1,660 in 2013 to $1,658 in 2014. The average rent for all property types in 2014 was $1,740 which is up almost 1% from $1,727 in 2013.

Full post here

Things I wish we knew:
- sq ft for units (toronto has it on mls)
- amount of off-MLS rentals (kijiji etc)

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by MattRichling

Full post here

Things I wish we knew:
- sq ft for units (toronto has it on mls)
- amount of off-MLS rentals (kijiji etc)

Two explanations for this that I can see despite a general impression that the rental market in Ottawa is weakening.

The higher end rental market remains strong which is where you see the use of MLS.

It is also possible some (I would guess especially mid range) condo owners who previously would have used free listings are using MLS because they are having more difficulty renting on their own.

[nredding]

I am a landlord in the Glebe and I have noticed that the vast majority of apartments listed for rent are on kijiji and not on MLS. Also, the MLS-listed apartments are significantly more expensive than the apartments on kijiji. So If you look at the Ottawa rental market based on MLS only you are getting a very skewed view.

[MattRichling]

Originally Posted by nredding

I am a landlord in the Glebe and I have noticed that the vast majority of apartments listed for rent are on kijiji and not on MLS. Also, the MLS-listed apartments are significantly more expensive than the apartments on kijiji. So If you look at the Ottawa rental market based on MLS only you are getting a very skewed view.

I don't disagree, but this data still gives us some insight... Granted it is not a full market overview.

Originally Posted by YOWetal

It is also possible some (I would guess especially mid range) condo owners who previously would have used free listings are using MLS because they are having more difficulty renting on their own.

I would agree with this. Where we (agents) heavily used kijiji to rent something in years past, we are seeing a shift away from kijiji (IMO due to the amount of listings). Difficulty renting especially with a pre-construction building, you get hand fulls of units trying to rent a similar product at the same time.

[lrt's friend]

I have been trying to sell a condo and the market has been bad. Somebody else in the same building who was also trying to sell rented their unit until the market improves.

At the present time, it may be easier to rent out a condo rather than sell it.

[1overcosc]

Every rental I've ever lived in (and there's a lot!) I've gotten through Kijiji.