Photo: Tyler / Adobe Stock

Rental prices in the Greater Toronto Area are on a downward trend again, but Toronto has overtaken Etobicoke to become the most expensive municipal market again.

In its March 2022 Toronto Rent Report, liv.rent stated that GTA prices cooled off slightly from the massive increase in rent reported between January and February.

To kick off March, the average price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit has fallen to $1,772, down $18 month-to-month from February’s average rent of $1,790. In comparison, monthly rents rose from $1,678 in January to $1,790, a difference of $112.

“This slight pull-back is likely just a normal cooling-off period, although it’s too soon to say for certain whether or not a downward trend will form,” said liv.rent’s report.

Toronto has reclaimed its spot as the most expensive municipality for unfurnished one-bedroom rentals in the GTA after Etobicoke’s prices normalized this month. Last month, Etobicoke became the most expensive GTA neighbourhood for an unfurnished one-bedroom rental property as average prices grew to $2,145, higher than downtown Toronto prices by $235. On average, you’ll now pay $2,003 for an unfurnished one-bedroom home in downtown compared to $1,884 in Etobicoke.

Brampton continued to hang on to its title as the cheapest GTA municipality in March, where the average unfurnished one-bedroom unit costs $1,525. The city also has the least expensive unfurnished two-bedroom rentals, priced at $1,844. Scarborough reported the cheapest three-bedroom unfurnished homes for March, now worth $2,392.

As of March, Brampton also has the least expensive one- and two-bedroom furnished rentals, priced at $1,377 and $1,785. You can find the cheapest three-bedroom furnished rental properties in Scarborough at $2,373 a month.

Chart: March 2022 Toronto Rent Report, liv.rent

Unfurnished, one-bedroom rental prices reported minor growth in the GTA’s cities for March, rising 4.87 per cent, 4.59 per cent and 4.8 per cent monthly in downtown Toronto, Markham and North York. Unfurnished rents for one-bedroom units in Etobicoke dropped 12.19 per cent month-over-month, quite a difference from its 22.23 per cent gain made in February.

Furnished one-bedroom rentals reported slightly bigger increases, rising 10.67 per cent, 10.3 per cent and 9.29 per cent between February and March in Scarborough, Mississauga and Vaughan-Richmond Hill.

On average, one-bedroom furnished rentals ($1,730) continue to be cheaper than their unfurnished counterparts ($1,772) by $42.

“It’s cheaper to rent furnished units than unfurnished ones in many GTA communities, including Markham, Mississauga, Brampton, and Vaughan-Richmond Hill,” said the report.

Communities featured in this article

More articles like this