Starting off 2022, average rents for one-bedroom residences in the Greater Toronto Area have taken a noticeable plunge compared to the previous month, which ended 2021 on a high note.
In its GTA Rent Report for January 2022, liv.rent stated that prices for the average unfurnished one-bedroom rental in the region fell to $1,678 in the new year. This is a $88 drop from December 2021, which recorded the rental price high of $1,766 for the year.
Liv.rent pointed out that winter months “typically see a decline in rental prices across Canada,” meaning January’s drop in prices could be kicking off that trend for 2022.
“The Greater Toronto Area’s rental averages have declined again this month, after soaring to new heights in December,” said the report. “Prices have largely returned to more normal levels in key areas, led by sweeping drops in rental averages in Downtown Toronto itself.”
From December 2021 to January 2022, prices for both furnished and unfurnished residences in the GTA dropped in several neighbourhoods.
Toronto, Mississauga and North York reported the steepest declines for furnished rentals, where prices fell 25.27 per cent, 25.26 per cent and 11.57 per cent month-to-month. For unfurnished properties, notable monthly price decreases were noted in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton as costs tumbled 16.37 per cent, 7.41 per cent and 7.34 per cent, respectively.
Markham was the only GTA community that reported price increases in both the furnished and unfurnished categories as costs inched up 1.86 per cent and 2.85 per cent from December to January.
For yet another month, Brampton held on to its title of the cheapest place to rent in the GTA, where the average unfurnished one-bedroom rental will cost you $1,502 a month. Brampton also reported the lowest price for an unfurnished two-bedroom rental at $1,840, while Scarborough had the cheapest three-bedroom rentals at an average of $2,239.
Meanwhile, Toronto is still the most expensive place to rent in the GTA where you’ll pay $1,827 for the average unfurnished one-bedroom rental. This marks a significant fall from December, when the same property type cost $2,184 according to liv.rent.
For furnished rentals, the least expensive options for one-, two- and three-bedroom homes could also be found in Brampton and Scarborough, where rents average $1,417, $1,851 and $2,307 a month.
As rental prices fell in most GTA communities this past month, the cost difference between unfurnished and furnished properties narrowed — the average rent for a furnished residence in the GTA ($1,703) is just $25 more than the same unfurnished property type, which now averages $1,678. Compared to last month, the difference between furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom rentals was $167.
