The Housing market

Finding a place to live in Canada

In Canada, continued strong demand for housing and increasing house prices have resulted in a decline in rental occupancy rates (increase in rental vacancies).

Currently, the rental market has a strong supply of residential rental properties (approximately 5%, which is significantly above the average vacancy rate of 3.3%).

The Canadian rental market can be described as tenant-friendly. Historically low interest rates for mortgage-type borrowing have influenced people to move from renting to owning. The higher supply of rental properties means landlords are offering different incentives such as free rentals for a month, free parking, home appliances and so on. This is especially true in densely populated cities, such as Toronto. In Canada, 33% of all properties are rental properties.

56% of all Canadian immigrants settle in Ontario, the majority in the Greater Toronto Area, so some of this section focuses on Toronto. If your chosen Canadian destination is different, you will still find many of your questions answered here.

In addition to other large Canadian cities, such as Vancouver and Montreal, Toronto is where a large number of students arrive from many countries in the world in order to develop, improve or perfect their knowledge of the English language.

The housing market in the rest of the major cities in Canada including Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax is similar to Toronto. However, the main difference is the price levels for purchasing property (real estate). See listing below for the average price of a detached bungalow (single story house with no common walls with neighbours) in major Canadian cities:

Prices

Average detached bungalow prices by City/Region (CAD$) - Source: RBC – Economics Q1-2005

Canada: $238,000
Toronto: $372,000
Ottawa: $238,000
Vancouver: $427,000
Montreal: $208,000
Calgary: $238,000

The different types of accommodation generally available in urban areas such as Toronto are as follows:

Apartment
House
Single room rentals
Hostel / Guest House accommodation
Homestay accommodation
College or University campus residence
Hotel
Motel
Other shared accommodation
Government-subsidized housing (usually requires a long waiting period).

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it gives an indication of the choice you have when choosing accommodation.

Where to look

There are many different sources of information when looking for an apartment or a house to rent:

Our Housing Classifieds
Local community newspapers (Villager, Guardian, etc.)
City newspapers (Toronto Sun, Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, etc.)
Free rental publications available in public places such as subway and bus stations (Homes for Rent publication, etc.)
Personal contacts (family, friends, etc.)
Management offices of rental properties (buildings, co-operative housing, etc.)
Government offices
Real estate agencies (not many do rentals)

In most cases for Toronto and major Canadian cities, the closer you are to the city center, the higher the rent/mortgage will be. In Toronto, average rental prices are:

Approximately C$850/month for a one-bedroom apartment in the city of Toronto is (between $500 and $1,200 depending on the proximity to city center and the amenities included)
Around C$1,000 for a 2-bedroom apartment (between $900 and $1,500 depending on the proximity to city center).

There is a small supply of luxury apartments priced up to several thousand dollars a month.

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