Those high-rise builders are now bypassing the condo investors and renting out units that would otherwise languish on the market.
“No one wants to hold onto real estate, but this is a natural because the rental market is so crazy,” condo developer Paul Golini, with Empire Communities, told the Toronto Star.
He’s not alone with other condo builders moving to capitalize on a hot market as their own cools.
While condo sales in the GTA flatlined with the introduction of new tighter mortgage rules, occupancy rates have continued to edge skyward as the city struggles to meet demand from new migrants and others looking to the downtown core for shelter.
Their eagerness continues to spur rental price growth, a lure for developers trying to shift units as as an increasing number of buyers adopt a wait-and-see position.
The newfound interest of developers may ultimately lower the heat under the rental market of rental inventory spikes in the short-term.
Still, that kind of phenomenon in the long-term is unlikely, say analysts, pointing to rental demand that is forecast to dwarf the thousands of units under construction.
Pre-construction Condos 