It looks like the Toronto-area rental market has made its triumphant return, as average rents throughout the region have increased for the fifth month in a row following more than a year of pandemic-induced decreases. 

Amid the pandemic, when students and workers left urban centres, the cost of renting tumbled. Subsequently, landlords began offering incentives to attract tenants. According to Toronto Rentals, by February this year, rents were down 16.3% compared to February 2020, just before the pandemic hit.

But, as pandemic restrictions eased up this spring, there were signs the slump was reversing course, with rents gradually starting to pick up steam. In August, average rents for all property types increased 0.9% month-over-month to $2,097 in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), according to the latest Bullpen Research & Consulting and TorontoRentals.com latest GTA Rent Report.  

However, despite the recent uptrend, the average rent in the GTA is still down 4% annually from $2,184 per month in August of last year and 14% from August 2019’s average rent of $2,450 per month. Despite this, the continued uptick in prices indicates that the rental slump experienced throughout the majority of the pandemic is behind us, and the GTA rental market continues to roar back to life.

Continue to read on: STOREYS.com