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Ontario  + Apartments  | 
Photo of a Toronto apartment building.

GTHA Rental Vacancy Reaches Highest Level Since 2021

Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) multi-family rental vacancy reached its highest point since the COVID-19 pandemic in the fourth quarter of 2024, says a new Urbanation report.

GTHA vacancy climbed to 3.4% in the fourth quarter, a level not seen since the second quarter of 2021. The 3.4% mark represented a 90-basis-point rise year-over-year.

Urbanation attributed the rise to high asking rents and increased supply, as a wave of new rental buildings has entered the market. According to the market-intelligence firm, purpose-built rental unit completions skyrocketed to 5,537, a figure 86% higher than the 10-year average. Another 8,872 units are scheduled for completion in 2025, potentially further impacting market conditions.

Despite the increase in vacancies, Urbanation reported, rental prices continued to edge up. That finding is in line with other recent reports on the Greater Toronto Area rental market.

The GTHA condominium rental-market also experienced shifts with a record number of completions leading to an increase in available listings, as has occurred in the GTA.

By the end of 2024, GTHA active condo-rental listings had surged 72% compared to the previous year. As a result, the region’s condo rents fell for the third consecutive quarter, dropping 1.8% year-over-year to an average of $3.89 per square foot. Smaller condo units saw the most significant rent decreases, with micro-units under 400 square feet declining 9% over the past year,

Amid these trends, the pace of new rental construction has slowed across the GTHA. Purpose-built rental construction starts fell 10% in 2024, with Toronto proper experiencing a sharper decline of 35%, according to Urbanation.

Market analysts say that the surge in new completions amid ongoing high demand has eased rental pressures temporarily, providing the region’s tenants with a rare period of improved affordability following years of steep rent increases.

Pictured: Toronto apartment building.

Photo: Toronto Rentals.com

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About Monte Stewart

Monte Stewart serves as Content Director - Canada for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monte provides daily news coverage of major Canadian commercial real estate markets, including Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. He has written about the real estate sector for various media outlets and Avison Young since the early 2000s. In addition, he has covered sports, general news and business for several leading wire services and publications, including The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, The Calgary Herald, The Globe and Mail, Research Money, The Daily Oil Bulletin, Natural Gas World and The Toronto Star. Monte is active in his community as a youth basketball coach and raises funds for such charitable causes as Movember.

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