![\"Vacancies](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gtha-rental.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo:\u00a0eskystudio<\/a> \/ Adobe Stock<\/em><\/p>\nVacancies dropped and prices trended upward in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area\u2019s (GTHA) purpose-built rental apartment market during the first months of 2022.<\/p>\n
In its recently-released Q1-2022 Rental Take for the GTHA, Zonda Urban noted that the region\u2019s purpose-built rental market has continued to experience \u201cpositive momentum.\u201d Rental vacancies dropped annually and from one quarter to the next as the cost of a new purpose-built rental apartment in the GTHA jumped up $0.06 per square foot.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cFive projects were launched in the first quarter of the year adding 683 new units to the market,\u201d stated the quarterly report. \u201cTraffic continues to increase with young professionals and international renters driving demand for newer product.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we know about the GTHA new rental market based on the latest from Zonda Urban.<\/p>\n
Vacancies fall on quarterly and yearly basis<\/h3>\n
Despite five new project launches during Q1-2022, vacancy rates still continued to fall in the GTHA.<\/p>\n
Overall, GTHA vacancies dropped 1.8 per cent from Q4-2021 to an overall average of 9.5 per cent by the end of Q1-2022, marking a 4.8 per cent decrease in vacancies year-over-year.<\/p>\n
Etobicoke currently has the highest average vacancy rate among the GTHA\u2019s sub-markets at 35.5 per cent in Q1-2022, followed by Toronto West\/ York at 21.3 per cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lower quarterly vacancy can be attributed to the steady absorption of the newer product,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n
Rental rates rise to $3.54 a square foot<\/h3>\n
As vacancy rates declined, the cost of a new rental increased in Q1-2022.<\/p>\n
Average rental rates rose 1.7 per cent from $3.48 in Q4-2021, about $0.06 a square foot, to $3.54 per square foot at the end of Q1-2022. On a yearly basis, rental prices grew eight per cent, or $0.26 per square foot, up from $3.28 in Q1-2021.<\/p>\n
Downtown Toronto is currently the most expensive sub-market to rent in, where you\u2019ll pay an average of $3.87 per square foot for a new purpose-built rental unit as of Q1-2022, followed by Midtown\/Uptown at $3.78 per square foot. If you\u2019re looking to save on rent, the average rental rates in Brampton are $2.35, the cheapest in the GTHA.<\/p>\n