Breadcrumb Trail Links
The average asking price in October for a two-bedroom unit in London was $2,161, according to the latest snapshot by Rentals.ca. Photo by SHAUGHN BUTTS /Postmedia Network
Article content
The bad news? Asking rents for vacant apartments in London grew at one of the fastest paces in the country during the past year, the latest snapshot of Canada’s rental market shows.
Advertisement 2
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The silver lining? Prices were virtually unchanged last month compared to September, the first time this year average rents in the city didn’t see month-over-month growth.
By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
Thanks for signing up!
Article content
According to Rentals.ca, a website used by landlords to advertise available units, one-bedroom apartments in the city were renting for $1,818 last month.
That’s 36.5 per cent higher than in October of last year and the highest year-over-year growth for this type of unit in the 35 markets analyzed by Rentals.ca and Urbanation. It’s also only about $8 higher than in September.
Similarly, the average asking rent for two-bedroom units in the city saw significant year-over-year growth and sits at $2,161, about $23 lower than in September.
Though any slowdown in price growth is welcome news for cash-strapped Londoners, the conditions that have helped fuel rent prices – key among them renters’ inability to enter into homeownership due to high home prices – remain in place.
Advertisement 3
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“The unprecedented growth in rents underway is broad-based across Canada, with most markets reporting double-digit annual rent inflation,” Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation, said in a statement.
“The rental market keeps getting hotter with each interest rate increase, coupled with a record-high increase in the population. The need to ramp up rental supply has never been greater.”
In response to the housing crisis, the provincial government of Premier Doug Ford introduced this year new legislation that aims to spur the construction of 1.5 million homes in the province during the next decade.
To do so, Bill 23, also known as the More Homes Built Faster Act, proposes streamlining the approval process for new developments while also allowing up to three residential units on properties now zoned for only one home.
Advertisement 4
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
More than 40,000 homes would be needed to be built in the London area to meet expected demand during the next 10 years, according to some experts.
But adding new supply to the city’s rental stock won’t address London’s affordability crisis on its own, two observers say.
“We have Londoners who drive by these beautiful houses that are being built knowing they will never be able to afford them in their lifetime,” said Glen Pearson, co-executive director of the London Food Bank.
The number of people accessing services at the food bank is on the rise this year, with the majority citing rent prices as the main reason why they are resorting to using the agency, he said.
“It’s the No. 1 reason and it will maintain itself because (this issue) is not being abated, Pearson said.
Advertisement 5
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“Right now, affordable housing can’t even be afforded by middle-class people.”
It was an opinion echoed by Jacqueline Thompson, head of the poverty-fighting agency LifeSpin.
Rent prices are putting people on social assistance at risk of becoming homeless, she said, citing the allocation of $390 a month to a single person for shelter.
“It underscores the reason why we need to build what is truly affordable housing,” Thompson said. “Using under-market rentals and calling it affordable housing is not accurate.
“I don’t know in what century rent was $390 but it hasn’t been in the last two decades at least . . . and even if people can find something that’s less than market rent, most of it is substandard.”
Twitter.com/JuhaatLFPress
-
London’s record-high apartment rents now top parts of the GTA
-
Here’s why rents are soaring in London while home prices cool off
Share this article in your social network
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Advertisement 1
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiX2h0dHBzOi8vbGZwcmVzcy5jb20vbmV3cy9sb2NhbC1uZXdzL2xvbmRvbi1yZW50cy1zb2FyLTM2LWluLW9uZS15ZWFyLWhpZ2hlc3QtaW5jcmVhc2UtaW4tY2FuYWRh0gEA?oc=5
