Rent Prices Continue to Skyrocket, and Toronto Plans to Convert Parking Lots to Build New Homes

This week’s top real estate stories.

By  Jared Lindzon | 2 minute read

Every Friday, Wahi brings you the most important real estate stories from the past week.

Rent Prices Are Leaving the Earth’s Atmosphere

Sorry Isaac Newton, but not everything that goes up must come down, at least not in Canada’s rental market. According to a report by Rentals.ca, rent increases are on an “unrelenting” path into the zero-gravity of space, jumping 10.5% last year, and 21% since interest rates began skyrocketing two years ago. According to the report, apartment rents jumped 14.4% between February 2023 and February 2024, hitting an average of $2,110. Condos, meanwhile, experience a more modest 5% jump, bringing the average asking price up to $2,372. The country’s most expensive markets, Ontario and B.C., only experienced increases of about 1%.

The Bids are Back in Town  

The GTA’s housing market is waking from hibernation, agitation and hungry. After an uncharacteristically sleepy winter, overbidding has returned to the region, just in time for what’s expected to be an aggressive spring market. According to Wahi’s Market Pulse report, a quarter of the city’s neighbourhoods transitioned back into overbidding territory in February, up from zero in January. An additional 5.6% of neighbourhoods saw homes trade hands at around asking, leaving about 69% where buyers can still successfully offer below asking. The data also suggests that overbidding is more common on listings under $1 million.

Canada’s Housing Market Flagged as a Security Risk

If there isn’t already enough to keep you up at night, the RCMP has you covered. According to a nightmarish internal report that was obtained via an access to information request, the country is facing multiple “crises” that put the nation’s stability at risk. Lining up next to global threats like climate change, political polarization, foreign wars, a global recession, and AI deepfakes was the increasingly dire housing situation. The heavily redacted nine-page report suggests economic challenges will reduce living standards for future generations, adding “many Canadians under 35 are unlikely ever to be able to buy a place to live.”       

Toronto to Park its Housing Challenges on City Lots

The city of Toronto is running out of spaces for affordable housing units, but city councillors believe they’ve found somewhere to park them. It turns out that the city owns real estate that is currently used for public parking. A new proposal suggests turning about 130 of the city’s 300 parking lots — 74 of which are within a 10-minute walk of public transit — into public housing developments. The plan, which was endorsed by the Mayor Olivia Chow’s executive committee and the mayor herself, will be put up for a vote later this month.

Housing Proposals Begin to Emerge Ahead of Budget Announcement  

As the federal government prepares to showcase its 2024 budget, those in the know say housing will take centre stage. The budget, which will be presented by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on April 16, is expected to include several bold measures aimed at addressing housing affordability. Economists speculate that will include financial assistance for first-time buyers and more aggressive construction and development initiatives. For the meantime the Canadian Home Builders’ Association is pushing for the return of 30-year amortizations on insured mortgages for first time buyers, while the NDP is advocating for more measures to prevent renovictions.  

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