The Rent Report

Urbanation
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The Rent Report is a podcast that dives into the data behind Canada's rental and real estate markets. Produced in collaboration with Urbanation and Rentals.ca, the show goes beyond the headlines to break down the latest trends, analyze the numbers, and explore what they mean for renters, landlords, and the housing market across the country. Each episode turns complex housing data into clear insights, helping listeners better understand how Canada's rental landscape is evolving.

  1. 3d ago

    014 - Tariffs, Population Revisions, and the Rental Market in Canada

    Read the articles discussed in this episode: Tariffs and Canada's rental market: https://rentals.ca/blog/tariffs-trade-uncertainty-and-canadas-rental-market StatCan's population revisions and the rental market: https://rentals.ca/blog/revised-population-data-shows-supply-is-doing-more-to-lower-rents-than-previously-believed On this Data Dive episode of The Rent Report, presented by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, we're joined by David Aizikov, Product Manager for Data Services, and Giacomo Ladas, Associate Director of Communications for Rentals.ca, to break down two September articles: one on how tariffs are affecting Canada's rental market, and one on Statistics Canada's upward revision to its population estimates. We start with tariffs: why the impact on rents has been small so far, how rising construction costs work their way through the development pipeline over several years, and why tariff-exposed markets like Oshawa and Windsor are moving so differently. We also look at how a building's construction type shapes its exposure, comparing high-rise towers in Toronto and Vancouver with timber-frame construction in Alberta and Quebec, and how economic uncertainty is delaying household formation even in markets with little direct exposure. From there, we turn to StatCan's revision, which turned three quarters of reported population decline into continued, slower growth. We explain how a backlog of post-graduation work permit applications caused the undercount, and what the revision means for the story behind falling rents. The panel discusses vacancy chains, the "continuum of housing," the federal target for non-permanent residents, and repositioning, the practice of renovating older buildings and moving them upmarket. The episode closes with a look at the risk of another supply gap around 2030, when today's delayed housing starts would have been completed, followed by each panellist naming the one policy lever they would pull to keep housing projects viable. The Rent Report is a podcast from Urbanation, in collaboration with Rentals.ca, breaking down the data shaping Canada's rental and real estate markets. Chapters 0:00 Cold Open 0:54 Intro 1:22 What the Media Is Asking About Tariffs 2:36 Construction Costs and the Development Pipeline 4:46 Tariff-Exposed Markets: Oshawa vs. Windsor 6:28 Steel, Timber and Uncertainty 7:24 Mass Timber and Building Beyond the Core 9:19 Delayed Decisions and an Older Renter Base 10:33 Why Housing Policy Needs to Look Further Ahead 12:02 You Don't Have to Lose Your Job to Change Your Plans 13:34 StatCan's Population Revision 17:41 Supply Becomes the Main Story 19:33 How StatCan Missed the Work Permit Surge 21:49 Vacancy Chains and the Continuum of Housing 26:02 The Non-Permanent Resident Target 28:23 What Is Repositioning? 32:03 A Supply Gap Around 2030? 36:28 One Policy Lever to Keep Projects Viable 40:59 Jeb!'s Pick: Zoning Reform 43:24 Outro

  2. Sep 18

    013 - GTA Real Estate Finally Bottoming Out? With Rob Marsiglio

    Follow Rob Marsiglio: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@robertmarsigliorealtor X (Twitter): https://x.com/rob_siglio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertmarsigliorealtor/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@robertmarsigliorealtor   On this episode of The Rent Report, presented by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, we sit down with Rob Marsiglio, a realtor based in Ontario's Durham Region known for his widely followed weekly data updates on GTA sales and inventory, to unpack where the Greater Toronto Area housing market stands heading into the fall of 2026.   We dig into TRREB's latest numbers and debate whether 2025 or 2026 will end up as the true bottom for GTA sales, why year-over-year comparisons can be misleading this deep into a correction, and why days on market may be a better signal than listings or sales counts. We also cover the shrinking gap between buyer and seller price expectations, the looming mortgage renewal wall hitting in early 2027, and how return-to-office mandates are reshaping demand between the city core and the outer GTA.   The conversation turns to Canada's uneven housing map, tracing how the correction moved from Toronto outward to secondary markets and Calgary, and why Halifax and Saskatchewan keep defying the national trend. We also break down who is actually buying up sub-$400K condos, what bulk institutional purchases and rental conversions signal about market health, and how shrinking condo completions could set up a future supply crunch.   The episode closes with Rob's practical advice for anyone weighing whether to buy in the GTA right now, from running the rent-versus-buy math to building a cushion into a mortgage pre-approval.   The Rent Report is a podcast from Urbanation, in collaboration with Rentals.ca, breaking down the data shaping Canada's rental and real estate markets.   ## Chapters   0:00 Intro 1:15 GTA Market Outlook Heading Into Fall 2:48 Rental vs. Resale Market Dynamics 3:31 TREB's Latest Numbers: Is 2025 or 2026 the Bottom? 5:28 Why Year-Over-Year Comparisons Can Mislead 6:58 The Buyer-Seller Price Gap 8:22 Mortgage Rates and the Renewal Wall 10:02 Debunking the "Dog Crate Condo" Myth 10:36 Return-to-Office and Shifting Buyer Appetite 11:43 How the Correction Spread Across Canada 12:54 Halifax and Nova Scotia's Defiant Market 13:07 Will GTA Prices Keep Falling? 15:04 Who's Buying Sub-$400K Condos? 16:48 The Coming Supply Gap and Affordability 17:45 Bulk Investor Purchases and Rental Conversions 18:49 Rob's Advice for GTA Buyers 21:51 Where to Find Rob Marsiglio 23:02 Outro

  3. Aug 28

    012 - Have GTA Condo Sales Hit Bottom? Q2 Roundup with Daniel Foch and Shaun Hildebrand

    This episode of The Rent Report looks at what's happening in the GTHA condo and rental markets midway through the year, with Shaun Hildebrand, President of Urbanation, and Daniel Foch, Chief Real Estate Officer at Valery and co-host of the Canadian Real Estate Investor Podcast. Condo sales picked up in the second quarter for the first time in years, but Shaun and Daniel dig into whether that's the start of a real recovery or just a low bar from the year before. They also get into how the new HST rebate is playing out on the ground, which types of projects can take advantage of it, and why developers have been slow to move on pricing. From there, the conversation turns to the rental side, where absorption has been unusually strong and the balance between condo landlords and purpose-built rental operators is shifting. Shaun and Daniel also talk about who's actually buying and renting right now, and why some long-running assumptions about homeownership in Canada might not hold the way they used to. They close with a longer-term look at where supply is headed over the next few years, and what that could mean for renters and buyers in the GTA. Find the latest research and full Q2 reports at Urbanation.ca.

  4. Aug 14

    011 - Is Nova Scotia More Expensive than BC? - August 2026 Data Dive

    On today's episode, we look at one of the more talked about stories in Canadian rental data this year: a smaller province appearing to pass a much larger one in average asking rent, and why that comparison isn't as simple as the headline makes it sound. We also cover Vancouver and Toronto rents moving in different directions, what rising vacancy rates mean for renters and landlords, and how changes to a major federal financing program are affecting how new rental supply gets built. Later in the episode, we talk about why renters seem to be asking sharper questions than they used to, and some questions about how reliable the population data behind many housing forecasts really is. Joining us this month are David Aizikov, Product Manager of Data Services at Urbanation, and Giacomo Ladas, Associate Director of Communications at Rentals.ca. For the full data and the monthly rent report, visit rentals.ca.

  5. Jul 24

    010 - What Canadian Renters Are Looking For - July 2026 Data Dive

    Spring 2026 Renter Preference Survey: https://rentals.ca/blog/spring-2026-renter-preference-survey From Vancouver to Winnipeg: How Canada's Rental Market Looks Different Depending on Where You Live: https://rentals.ca/blog/from-vancouver-to-winnipeg-how-canadas-rental-market-looks-different-depending-on-where-you-live National Rent Report: https://rentals.ca/national-rent-report The Rent Report Podcast is back with a July 2026 data dive. We're joined by David Aizikov, Product Manager for Data Services at Urbanation, and Giacomo Ladas, Associate Director of Communications for Rentals.ca, to unpack the results of the newly released Spring Renter Preference Survey. This month's conversation covers what nearly 1,200 Canadian renters had to say about affordability, budgets, and rent control, and how their expectations for where rents are headed sometimes line up very differently from what the industry itself is forecasting. The group also breaks down a key distinction that often gets lost in headlines: the difference between asking rents and in-place rents, and why that gap matters more in some cities than others. From there, the discussion turns to who is actually renting across the country today, how household composition and income affect affordability, and why being priced out of a city can be a drag on more than just one household's budget. The episode also covers a notable shift in which province now holds the title of most expensive for condo and apartment rentals, along with an early look at how renters are starting to use AI tools in their apartment search. The episode closes on a lighter note, with both guests weighing in on the amenities that have made or broken a rental decision for them personally.

  6. Jul 10

    009 - Ontario's Path to Housing Reform, with Eric Lombardi

    This episode of The Rent Report, a collaboration between Urbanation and Rentals.ca, features a conversation with Eric Lombardi, founder of More Neighbors Toronto, chair of the Toronto Branch of Build Canada, and a current leadership candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party. The discussion covers his views on housing policy, development costs, zoning reform, and the broader economic pressures facing Ontario's rental and ownership markets. Lombardi outlines specific proposals including a land value tax targeted at speculators, elimination of development charges and the land transfer tax, and reforms to building codes that he argues could reduce construction costs by 30 to 40 percent. He also addresses the recent trend toward purpose-built rental construction, government plans to purchase unsold condo inventory, and proposed changes to international student policy at Ontario colleges and universities. The conversation touches on the balance between provincial oversight and municipal autonomy in zoning decisions, the fiscal relationship between the province and cities, and what Lombardi describes as the underdiscussed risks facing homeowners in a market correction. This episode reflects the stated policy positions of a leadership candidate and is presented for informational purposes as part of our ongoing coverage of the Canadian rental market.

  7. Jun 26

    008 - Inside Canada's Mortgage Market, with Mark Mitchell

    Connect with Mark Mitchell: Website: https://www.londonontariomortgages.ca/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MortgageBrokerLondonOntario In this episode of The Rent Report, we sit down with Mark Mitchell, a mortgage broker based in London, Ontario and one of Canada's most candid voices on the mortgage industry, real estate, and monetary policy. Mark runs a popular YouTube channel covering everything from rate decisions to market psychology, and this conversation draws on all of it. The episode opens with the Bank of Canada's decision to hold its policy rate at 2.25% and what it signals for borrowers. Mark breaks down why the central bank is effectively paralyzed right now, caught between tariff-driven inflation risk on one side and trade war-induced economic weakness on the other. The result is a mortgage market in wait-and-see mode, with fixed rates increasingly favored as variable becomes a bet on a near-term trade war resolution. From there, the conversation moves into the wave of pre-construction condos now coming to closing across Ontario at values well below their original purchase prices. Mark explains how some lenders are handling underwater assets through blanket appraisals, and why that may be less surprising than it sounds when you consider who financed the original developments. Context from the rental side adds another layer, where an oversupply of small investor-owned units is colliding head-on with a wave of new purpose-built rentals, pushing free rent incentives to levels not seen before. The episode also covers the Ontario government's takeover of RECO, the provincial real estate regulator, following the $10 million iPro Realty fraud and a pattern of subsequent brokerage scandals. Mark provides a detailed account of what happened and why self-regulation may not be well suited to an industry built on sales commissions. Other topics include the mortgage renewal wall and whether borrowers are actually at risk, the near-disappearance of investor and flip activity in the resale market, the record absence of new condo project starts in the GTA in Q1 2026, and what the narrowing spread between new and existing mortgage rates might mean for where the market goes next.

  8. Jun 15

    007 - High Supply, Low Demand, and the Technical Recession - June 2026 Data Dive

    In this episode of the Rent Report Podcast, Urbanation and Rentals.ca break down the June 2026 national rent data, including why Canadian rents are barely moving despite it being peak rental season, what's driving record supply across the country, and which cities are bucking the trend entirely. 🏠 What we cover: Why May 2026 saw only a 0.1% rent increase (vs. the 5-year average of 1.3%) 200,000+ purpose-built rental units under construction — and what that means for renters Nova Scotia overtakes BC as Canada's most expensive rental province Vancouver: 30 months of declining rents — and signs of a rebound Why Alberta rents are falling even as it's the only province with population growth Shared accommodation rents down 24% in Vancouver since 2024 The rise of illegal rooming houses and what it means for renters' rights What the softening market means for negotiating power, incentives, and free rent offers 🎙️ Guests: Giacomo Ladas — Associate Director of Communications, Rentals.ca David Aizikov — Product Manager, Data Services, Urbanation 📥 Get the full national rent report: rentals.ca 🔔 Subscribe to the Rent Report Podcast for monthly Canadian rental market data, city-by-city breakdowns, and expert analysis from Urbanation and Rentals.ca.

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The Rent Report is a podcast that dives into the data behind Canada's rental and real estate markets. Produced in collaboration with Urbanation and Rentals.ca, the show goes beyond the headlines to break down the latest trends, analyze the numbers, and explore what they mean for renters, landlords, and the housing market across the country. Each episode turns complex housing data into clear insights, helping listeners better understand how Canada's rental landscape is evolving.

Information

  • Creator
    Urbanation
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    The Rent Report

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