1 In 19 Rentals Sit Empty

🏚️ 1 In 19 Rentals Sit Empty

Source: Better Dwelling

The 411: Nearly 1 in 19 Toronto rentals are vacant as supply surges and incentives quietly cut rents by 13%.

• Toronto rental vacancy hit 5.4% in Q1, meaning nearly 1 in 19 units are sitting empty.

• That’s more than double vacancy levels from two years ago and the highest since 2021.

• The availability rate climbed to 8.0%, or roughly 1 in 12 units looking for tenants.

• Rents look sticky on paper, but incentives are doing the real work.

• Effective rents are down 13%, cutting about $379 per month from advertised prices.

• Two months free rent is now the most common incentive, offered in nearly half of projects.

• Supply isn’t slowing, with over 10,000 rental starts in the past year and nearly 9,000 units coming soon.

Why This Matters: Even when supply rises, affordability doesn’t instantly follow. Higher vacancy is easing pressure, but rents are still far above what many can afford. This shows how deep the affordability gap has become, even in a softer market.

💸 Wealth Gap Widens Fast

Source: Better Dwelling

The 411: Canada’s wealth gap is widening as the rich buy assets and lower-income households take on more mortgage debt.

• Canada’s average household net worth hit $1.08M in Q4 2025, up 5.3% year over year.

• But the gains weren’t shared evenly. The top 20% gained $201K, while the bottom 40% gained just $1.7K.

• That means the richest households gained roughly 120x more wealth in a single year.

• The top 20% now holds 65.7% of all household wealth in Canada.

• Meanwhile, the bottom 40% holds just 3.0%, with the bottom 20% effectively at zero or negative.

• The rich are piling into financial assets like stocks, which rose nearly 10% year over year.

• Lower-income households are doing the opposite, ramping up mortgage debt by 7.5%.

Why This Matters: How people build wealth is now splitting in two very different directions. Asset owners are benefiting from market gains, while others are relying more on debt just to keep up. That gap doesn’t just grow over time, it accelerates.

🚨 Mortgage Stress Hits Brampton

Source: Globe and Mail

The 411: Brampton has Canada’s highest mortgage delinquency rate as rising payments and falling prices hit homeowners.

• Brampton now has the highest mortgage delinquency rate among major Canadian cities.

• Delinquencies hit 0.6%, more than double the national rate of 0.26%.

• The rate has surged from just 0.06% in 2019, showing how fast stress is building.

• Rising rates, falling home prices, and job losses are all hitting at once.

• Home prices in Brampton jumped from $638K in 2019 to $1.24M in 2022, then fell 30% to $855K.

• Larger mortgages are seeing higher default rates, especially loans between $800K and $1M.

• One in 20 homes in Brampton is now a power-of-sale listing, far above the Ontario average.

Why This Matters: Rising delinquencies are the first real sign of financial stress hitting homeowners. As more mortgages reset at higher rates, forced sales could increase and put downward pressure on prices. Cracks are starting to show in highly leveraged markets.

🏢 GTA Portfolio Hits The Market

Source: Renx

The 411: Humbold Properties is listing most of its GTA portfolio, including 8 properties totaling over 647,000 sq ft.

• Humbold Properties has listed 8 GTA properties, putting most of its portfolio up for sale.

• The portfolio totals 647,544 sq ft across industrial, retail, and office assets.

• Properties are 92% leased across 93 tenants, offering stable income on paper.

• The assets can be bought together or individually, giving flexibility to investors.

• Several sites come with redevelopment or intensification potential.

• The largest site includes a 9.8-acre mixed-use complex with 235,000+ sq ft.

• Industrial assets dominate, including multiple properties in Markham and Toronto.

• The sale follows earlier listings in 2025, signaling a broader portfolio exit.

Why This Matters: Large portfolio sales often signal a shift in strategy or market conditions. Even with strong occupancy, owners may be cashing out ahead of uncertainty or repositioning capital. Moves like this can hint at where institutional confidence is heading.

👀 Save Max Returns Under RECO Watch

Source: Real Estate Magazine

The 411: RECO will lift Save Max freezes after $2.7M in trust shortfalls, but only under strict financial controls.

• RECO will lift freezes on Save Max brokerages after finding $2.7M in trust account shortfalls.

• The brokerages can operate again, but only under strict safeguards.

• RECO says funds were unlawfully moved for things like loan payments, taxes, credit cards, and vendor services.

• Around 400 agents were affected across Save Max, First Choice, Supreme, and Ace.

• Save Max and First Choice can restart once shortfalls are repaid and protected against.

• Broker of record Raman Dua faces an 18-month restriction and a personal guarantee.

• Save Max Supreme and Ace will be voluntarily wound down and cancelled.

• RECO will require enhanced accounting, third-party bank oversight, transaction approvals, and quarterly inspections.

Why This Matters: Trust accounts are where client and agent money is supposed to be protected, so a $2.7M shortfall is a major confidence issue. Letting Save Max reopen under strict controls shows RECO is trying to protect consumers without fully shutting down the business. It also signals brokerages should expect much tighter financial oversight going forward.

🤔 WTF of the Week:

Vancouver is sitting near the top of the global unaffordability chart, with homes priced around 12x income. Toronto is not far behind, while even Calgary and Edmonton look expensive compared to incomes.

Even Canada’s “affordable” cities are still wildly expensive.

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