Latest news with #RoyalLePage
Toronto Star
11 hours ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
Despite lower rents, many tenants report spending less on food and taking on credit card debt to make ends meet
Even though rent prices in Toronto and across Canada have declined in recent months, they are still high enough that many renters are spending less on food and accumulating debt to make their monthly payments, a new report says. According to the Royal LePage 2025 Canadian Renters Report, Canadian rent prices are 5.7 per cent higher than they were two years ago and 12.6 per cent higher than they were three years ago.
Calgary Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
More than half of Canadian renters eager to buy a home: Royal LePage
Article content More than half of Canadian renters are eager to buy a home, and the conditions for doing so have improved as interest rates decline, supply increases and affordability improves in many markets across the country. Article content Still, many would-be buyers are holding out for interest rates and prices to drop further before jumping into the market. Article content Article content A recent Royal LePage survey conducted by Burson said that 54 per cent of renters plan to buy property in the future, 16 per cent are planning to do so in the next two years and 21 per cent plan to buy in the next two to five years. Article content Article content 'We continue to see that many tenants are motivated to get a foot on the property ladder. In Canada's least affordable cities, entry-level opportunities have improved significantly, with home prices off last year's peaks, incomes up and borrowing costs trending lower,' Phil Soper, chief executive of Royal LePage, said in the report. Article content Article content While 28 per cent of Canadians who currently rent said they considered buying a property before signing or renewing their current lease, there are a few things keeping them on the sidelines. Article content Asked what factors influenced their decision to keep renting (respondents could choose more than one answer), 29 per cent said they were waiting for interest rates to lower and 40 per cent said they're waiting for property prices to decline. Article content 'History suggests they may be disappointed,' Soper said. 'Over the past 75 years, Canadian home values have risen approximately five per cent annually, running consistently ahead of inflation. The window of opportunity may be narrower than it appears, and strategic buyers are beginning to move.' Article content Article content Of those who currently rent, 28 per cent said they are working towards buying a property and continuing to rent allows them to save up for a down payment. Article content Article content Even in a softening market, affordability remains a long-term challenge for renters. Rents have declined for eight consecutive months, but, according to the report, asking prices have risen by an average of 4.1 per cent annually over the past five years, outpacing wage growth. Article content Across Canada, 15 per cent of tenants said they spend more than 50 per cent of their net income on rental payments. Atlantic Canada had the highest number of respondents who spend more than half of their net income on rent, at 31 per cent, followed by British Columbia (23 per cent), Alberta (18 per cent) and Ontario (15 per cent). Article content But homeownership isn't a goal for everyone. Overall, 31 per cent of renters said they don't plan to buy a home. For many respondents, who could pick more than one answer, the decision is financially motivated.
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Condo sales, construction crater in Canada's two biggest markets, data show
A for sale sign is pictured outside a home in Vancouver in a June, 28, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward) Condominium sales in Canada's two major markets continue to fall, leading to increasing supply and the cancellation of dozens of condo projects, despite a nationwide push to dramatically increase the construction of new homes. 'Both markets (Toronto and Vancouver) are significantly oversupplied, specifically in the condo segment,' says Adil Dinani, a sales representative with Royal LePage West in Vancouver. 'In Vancouver, we are sitting at listing inventory at the highest we've seen in 10 years.' From 2022 until the first quarter of 2025, condominium sales fell 75 per cent in Toronto and 37 per cent in Vancouver, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). In Toronto, condo sales are down 21.7 per cent year-over-year and inventory stands at more than 20,000 units. 'I believe this period in the condo market is going to be a challenge,' said Dinani. 'And I believe it will take a few years to clean up.' But sellers like Evelyn Contino don't have a few years to hang onto properties. The GTA-based real estate lawyer has been trying to sell her condo in downtown Toronto since November and has received no offers. 'My ex-partner and I have substantially reduced the price of this property and still nothing,' she said. 'It really is a tumultuous time in the real estate market.' Buyer's market That so many units are sitting on the market for months during a national housing crisis is a dichotomy experts chalk up to a variety of factors. While purchase prices in major markets like Toronto and Vancouver have softened, would-be buyers appear willing to wait to see if prices drop even further. Interest rates have also come down, but concerns about the global economy have gone up. 'You have a lot of would-be home buyers, people who have every intention of purchasing a home, but they've put that decision on hold because they want to see where the economy is headed,' said Jason Mercer, chief market analyst with the Toronto Region Real Estate Board (TRREB). Condo construction craters New condo construction is also sharply down, hitting its lowest level since 1996, according to Urbanation, which tracks the condo market in the GTA. With pre-construction sales cratering, developers are struggling to sell enough pre-construction units and cannot secure financing for new projects. Urbanation says at least 28 projects totalling nearly 6,000 units have been put on hold, cancelled, put into receivership or converted to rentals since 2024. But like every cycle, insiders predict this one will sort itself out. 'The market will get better and sentiment will improve,' said Dinani. 'What's going to happen is we will probably be in a period of an under-supplied market.' That's one of the reasons Mercer says the industry needs to find ways to keep building new homes. 'We can't take our foot off the gas,' he said. 'Right now, we are seeing a lot of supply in the resale market and that could potentially give people licence to say, 'hey, we don't have to worry so much about housing supply, at least in the short term.'' He warns that would be a mistake, especially given the CMHC says 3.5 million homes need to be built by 2030 to restore housing affordability. 'Five years down the road, we are going to be concerned about the lull in construction, because we haven't seen the housing start today,' Mercer warns.
Global News
a day ago
- Business
- Global News
More than half of Canadian renters plan to buy. So what's stopping them?
New data shows that although more than half of Canadian renters say they spend more than a third of their net income on rent, many are seriously considering purchasing a home sooner rather than later. However, there are factors holding them back. 'Affordability has improved and we wanted to understand if that had impacted the attitude of renters towards making a move from being a tenant to an owner,' says CEO of Royal LePage Phil Soper. 'We did find that 54 per cent of those polled did want to move into owned housing.' According to the 2025 Canadian Renters Report, 54 per cent of those currently renting their homes this year plan to purchase a property in five years or less, with one-third of those respondents saying they plan to do so within the next two years. Story continues below advertisement At the same time, many of those who plan to buy say they're still waiting to jump into the market. This may raise the question — what are they waiting for, exactly? Of those renters who said they were considering purchasing a home within the next few years, 40 per cent said they were waiting for property prices to decline, while 29 per cent said they were waiting on further interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada. The central bank's overnight, or benchmark, interest rate remains at 2.75 per cent, as it has since April with the economy overall taking a cautious approach amid the trade war brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies. 1:28 Ground broken on new development to bring 230 affordable homes to Calgary 'Waiting rarely, rarely works out well…it's very rare to see home prices decline,' says Soper. Story continues below advertisement 'Home prices don't come down. Just like overall cost of living rises over time, so does the cost of housing, and you shouldn't try to time house prices like you're getting into timing a stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy For other Canadians surveyed, it may be less about timing the market and more about being priced out of it altogether. Of those surveyed who currently rent but are looking to purchase within the next five years, more than 25 per cent said the reason they haven't made a purchase yet was that they couldn't qualify for financing or a mortgage. There are multiple reasons why a bank or other lender may deny a loan, like a mortgage, to someone, including a poor credit score, but if that isn't the case, often it comes down to an insufficient down payment or a household income that is too low to support the monthly payments. The government of Canada recommends saving personal funds for a down payment on a home between five and 20 per cent of the purchase price, but that varies depending on the price of that home and other factors. 2:01 Canada to accelerate affordable housing with $25 billion investment, Carney says Many renters may not be able to save enough every month to reach their goals in addition to monthly rent costs. Story continues below advertisement The survey results showed that of all renters nationally, 30 per cent said they had to reduce their contributions to savings, retirement or both in order to afford their rent payments. 'It takes sacrifices to live in cities and pay rents or pay mortgages, and I think therein lies one of the challenges with living in a country like Canada where we have a structural housing shortage, we don't have enough homes for our growing population,' says Soper. 'Rent and mortgage payments are high if you want to live in the most vibrant cities with the most employment opportunities.' Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigned on several affordability measures, including lowering some income taxes and providing GST relief for first-time buyers. Sales in Canada have already started to rise, as the Canadian Real Estate Association reports that in May, there was a 3.6 per cent increase in the number of units sold, signalling that many buyers who had been waiting took the plunge into the real estate market last month. The Leger survey, commissioned by Royal LePage, polled more than 1,800 Canadian renters over the age of 18 between June 2 and 9, and included those in major cities such as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Que., Quebec City and Montreal.
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Some Ontario renters are reducing spending on food and groceries to make ends meet: report
A rooftop terrace of a condo building is seen in downtown Toronto on Thursday, May 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young A significant portion of renters in Ontario are cutting back on things like food and groceries to afford their living situation, a new report suggests. The sacrifices are detailed in Royal LePage's 2025 Canadian renters report, which was conducted by Burson earlier this month and heard from 1,854 respondents nationally. According to the report, 39 per cent of Ontario renters are reducing their food and grocery costs to make ends meet. Another 22 per cent are taking on credit card debt and 21 per cent have taken on a second job or side hustle. Moreover, the survey found that 38 per cent of those leasing a property in Ontario are spending between 31 and 50 per cent of their net income on monthly rent costs. At least 15 per cent of respondents are spending more than 50 per cent of their income on rent, the report showed. The revelations come as the data suggests rent prices in Toronto are dropping, albeit remaining 'well above' historical averages. Citing the latest national rent report by and Urbanation Inc., Royal LePage says the average price of a one-bedroom rental unit in Toronto decreased by 7.1 per cent year-over-year to $2,302 in May. Meanwhile, the average price of a two-bedroom decreased by 10.7 per cent year-over-year to $2,933. The real estate company says the drop in rental prices is due to a softening in the market, which it attributes to two factors. 'A surge in supply, driven by the completion of thousands of new condo units, has added to inventory in recent months. At the same time, reductions in international student visas and the issuance of work permits have hampered activity, leading to fewer multiple-offer scenarios on rental units – something that had become typical for in-demand properties, especially during the peak of the pandemic rental surge in the second half of 2022 and 2023," Amrit Walia, sales representative with Royal LePage Signature Realty in Toronto, said in news release. Walia said that activity in the rental market has 'picked up' in certain pockets of the city, specifically in the financial district and surrounding areas as some downtown companies do away with remote work. He said one-bedroom units with dens, particularly those near restaurants, green spaces and the 'vibrancy of downtown life' remain in high demand.
