More Canadians are opting to lease their condominiums as a surging demand for rental properties persuade individuals to hold onto their properties, according to a RE/MAX Canada report.

In RE/MAX’s 2022 Canadian Condominium Report released Thursday, it found the condo market is “losing inventory to an attractive rental market, as would-be sellers simply opt to lease their units long-term.”

“For those who have adjusted expectations with every rate hike, the cost of carrying a mortgage versus renting is now more comparable, given sharp double-digit increases in rental rates throughout the major markets, but especially in B.C. and Ontario,” said Christopher Alexander, president of RE/MAX Canada, in the press release.

“So, while fewer sales have occurred in 2022, condominiums represented a greater proportion of overall sales, as buyers gravitated to affordable options to achieve home ownership.”

The report found condos had the largest percentage of total residential sales in Greater Vancouver (54.3 per cent), followed by the Greater Toronto Area (36.3 per cent) and Fraser Valley, B.C. (31.9 per cent).

RE/MAX Canada also found condo sales were down in the first eight months of the year in the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley, Greater Toronto, Ottawa and Nova Scotia housing markets.

 

WAITING FOR A CRASH?

While many Canadians may be waiting on the sidelines for a decline in housing prices, Elton Ash, executive vice president of RE/MAX Canada, said the recent slowdown in sales doesn’t mean there will be a crash anytime soon.

“Buyers should be cautioned that the current slowdown in sales activity is likely not indicative of a crash,” said Ash in the release.

“Prices for condominium product have remained stable or risen in most major urban centres year-to-date. Conditions are balanced overall and, as such, buyers and sellers with realistic expectations should be able to achieve reasonable objectives.”