New immigrants return to Bowen rents to rise to pre-pandemic

Toronto's rental and co-management Bowen rents have fallen sharply during the epidemic, but although the epidemic has not been completely eliminated, because of the arrival of new immigrants and international students, rents have risen to pre-epidemic levels and may be exceeded in the future.

The highest increase so far is in the larger luxury units, where rents were $2,795 in January, but by July they had risen to $3,350, up more than $550.

Paul Danison, head of Rentals.ca at the rental website, said: "Rents continue to rise."

Rent of two-bedroom units increased by 4.2% per month

They found that from June to July, rents for one-bedroom units rose by 1 percent; for second-bedroom units, they increased by 4.2 percent. The current average rent for a one-bedroom unit in Toronto is $1,800 and a two-bedroom unit at $2,600.

Now that the Canada-U.S. border has reopened, students are returning to school, and new immigrants are coming, he said, these situations have led to an increase in rents. Some of the benefits that used to be available in rental units, such as free high-speed Internet access, have now been reduced.

"People are going back to the downtown, many places are reopening, restaurants can be eaten, and the team is coming to Toronto to play."

He said large luxury units are currently leading the rental market upwards.

Eve Dutil will begin her master's program in September. Finding a rental house, she said, ended up renting a one-bedroom unit at $1,700.

She said: "The rents are ridiculously high now. If your parents can't support you, or you don't get any tuition subsidies from the government, it's not easy to rent a house."

Vik Singh, a teaching assistant at Wyason University's Rogers School of Management, is currently studying the economy during the pandemic.

He said the housing crisis will continue to challenge those starting to enter the workforce. Housing costs are now unaffordable throughout most districts, not only in Toronto, but also in smaller cities such as Hamilton.