![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/matt-vaile-toronto.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: mattvaile\/Instagram\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThe last time I had signed a lease was four years before and I knew the rental market had gone insane,\u201d says Vaile. According to condo research firm Urbanation, rental prices surged in 2018 more than they had in eight years, jumping 9.3 percent in just twelve months and bringing the average price of a one-bedroom condo up to a staggering $2,309 a month.<\/p>\n
On the ownership side, the condo market has continued on a tear. The average price of a one-bedroom condo was $603,527 in the second quarter of 2018, which rose 5.9 percent to $639,316 in Q2 of 2019, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board\u2019s Condo Market Report.<\/p>\n
Vaile decided to buy. \u201cMy goal was homeownership, but I didn\u2019t know how realistic it was to own in Toronto,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the time, my job was half-based in Waterloo, so I was kind of looking there but I wasn\u2019t ready to leave the city.\u201d<\/p>\n A combination of clever saving, a stowed-away inheritance and a little price negotiation helped Vaile take the leap. \u201cIt\u2019s the most adult thing I\u2019ve ever done but the sale was pretty simple once I initiated it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Photo: Matt Vaile\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n