Condo apartment leases were on the rise in the fourth quarter of 2013 according to a rental market report released by the Greater Toronto Area Realtors.

The report compared rental statistics to the same period in 2012. It found that a total of 4,305 condo apartments were leased in the last quarter of 2013, up 18 per cent from 2012. Condo apartments listed for rent during the same period were also up 31 per cent.

Diane Usher, president of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), partially attributes the increase in condo apartment transactions to the appeal of this property type over purpose-built rental units.

“The construction of purpose-built rental properties has been a tough sell over the past decade. This means that investor-owned condominium apartments have increasingly filled the void in terms of meeting the needs of renters,” Usher says. “People looking to rent modern apartments in popular neighbourhoods close to work and leisure opportunities have been focused on rental condos. Investor-owners have moved to meet this demand by listing their units for rent in greater numbers.”

Of the condo apartment transactions that took place in the quarter, approximately 95 per cent were either one- or two-bedroom units. The average rent for a one-bedroom unit decreased throughout 2013 to 1.6 per cent, equalling about $1,600 per month. By contrast, two-bedroom average rents increased to $2,165, up 3.7 per cent.

“In all likelihood, we will continue to see an increase in the number of apartments listed for rent in 2014 (in the GTA market),” says Jason Mercer, TREB senior manager of market analysis. “The degree to which the increase in listings is balanced out by an increase in demand will dictate the pace of average rent growth over the next 12 months.”