Real Estate Cheat Sheet: rents go up; glass falls down
The top stories in Toronto real estate this week: the market for rental condos heats up, the Four Seasons joins the ranks of glass-shedding towers, and economists predict the end of discount mortgages.
• More Torontonians are renting condos A record 5,315 condo leases were signed last quarter, which pushed the average rent on a condo up to $1,847, even as the average size of a rental unit shrank to 785 square feet. Experts believe tighter mortgage regulations are keeping would-be buyers in the rental market, while concerns about oversupply have current condo owners renting out their units rather than trying to sell them. The good news for tenants: the glut of new-builds in the next two years should eventually put a damper on climbing rents. [Globe and Mail]
• Glass falls from the 53rd floor of the new Four Seasons Hotel and Residences The latest shards from the heavens hit two “high-end vehicles” and temporarily closed Yorkville Avenue. [National Post]
• Pundits pronounce the end of rock-bottom mortgage rates Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal raised their five-year fixed-rate mortgages to 3.89 per cent and 3.79 per cent, respectively, which has many economists predicting an end to the era of ultra-low rates. A raft of mortgage defaults is unlikely, but consumer spending could fall significantly as households use a bigger portion of their income to finance their homes. [Toronto Star]
