Toronto rental market tightens as 'uneconomical' projects get scrapped: CIBC
BNN Bloomberg
The already-tight rental market in Greater Toronto is set to get even tighter as the economics behind condo construction deteriorate and lead to project cancellations, according to a new report from CIBC Capital Markets
“The significant and rapid increase in interest rates, along with surging construction costs and a lack of available labour make projects that only yesterday looked promising, totally uneconomical,” said Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC, in a note published Friday.
Tal cited data from market research firm Urbanation, which estimated roughly 10,000 condo units that were supposed to come online this year have instead been put on hold or will not be built.
Urbanation confirmed the numbers in an email to BNN Bloomberg. The firm’s president, Shaun Hildebrand, said 35,000 new condo units were expected to be available for presale in the Greater Toronto Area this year. However, only 20,000 units have launched year-to-date, and just 5,000 additional units are expected to come online for the rest of the year.