Are condos still a good investment?
According to a new survey by Rates.ca, about 30 per cent of Canadians say condos, once seen as a good investment, no longer hold that same appeal.
The survey of 1,568 Canadians also found that just 11 per cent say they would buy a condo as an investment, while 57 per cent said they would not buy a condominium for any reason.
This was the first time Rates.ca commissioned the survey, so the organization could not provide historical data for comparisons.
“Investor confidence has definitely softened,” Kevin Wong, a mortgage agent at Swivel Mortgage Group Inc. in Ontario, said in the report.
“Some of my investor clients are selling properties and reallocating their funds to other investments, like the stock market or high-growth regions like Alberta.”
Rates.ca notes that high inventory levels are also pushing prices down, meaning while buyers might have an easier time getting into the condo market, sellers may be grappling with oversupply.
According to Statistics Canada, two in five condo apartments in five provinces, including Ontario and British Columbia, were used as an investment property between 2016 and 2020.
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The agency says this was, in part, due to the affordability of condos compared to homes for those wanting to invest in real estate and become landlords. It says that more than half of occupied “dwellings” in downtown Toronto and Vancouver were condos, with more than half of them rented.
But the slowing rental market has also posed a concern, Rates.ca notes, as condo investors face higher costs from property tax and maintenance fees.
Rentals.ca noted in its recent report that the average ask for rent in March has decreased nationally by 2.8 per cent to an average of $2,119, making it more difficult for landlords to break even on those increased costs.
The numbers are in tune with what the Canadian Real Estate Association forecast for the housing market earlier this month, which showed uncertainty from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs is causing prices and demand to plummet.
At the time, CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said in an interview that the housing market had gone from a “slam dunk rebound year to treading water at best.”
Even though condo demand and interest in that market appears to be dropping in addition to, the survey showed 45 per cent of non-homeowners, like younger Canadians planning to buy their first home, are still considering a condo.
That 45 per cent includes higher-income households earning $100,000 or more who may be after entering the housing market.
The survey found 28 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 were more likely to believe condos are a good investment.
“Condos are the lowest point of entry for many people,” Wong said.
The Statistics Canada report echoes this, noting 37.8 per cent of first-time home buyers in B.C. and 16.5 per cent in Ontario bought a condo in 2019.
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About 30% of Canadians now say condos have lost investment appeal: survey
