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Is Office Demand Bouncing Back?
Commercial real estate rebounds while student housing takes a hit.
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Today, we’re covering
🏢 Return to Office is Driving Rent Recovery
😮💨 While GTA Rents Fall, Toronto Stays Pricey
🎓 Cap on Student Visas Hits Atlantic Schools Hard
💸 New Visa Rules Raise Financial Bar for Students
🤔 WTF of The Week
Read Time: 4 minutes
🏢 Return to Office is Driving Rent Recovery
Downtown Toronto office availability rate dropped to 17.7% in Sept 2025, from 20.4% in Q3 2024
Net effective rent for top financial district towers hit $30.50/sq ft in Q2 2025, up 20% from $25.33/sq ft in Q2 2024
Brookfield Properties reports 98% occupancy across its downtown portfolio
Two major banks (Scotiabank and RBC) are actively seeking 850,000–1 million sq ft of new office space
Major tenants signing new leases include:
Fidelity: 150,000 sq ft at TD Centre
Interac: expanding into 50% more space at First Canadian Place
Blaney McMurtry LLP: signed a 10-year lease for 3 floors at Scotia Plaza
More employers are now mandating office attendance:
Big five banks: 4 days/week
Ontario government and Rogers: moving to 5 days/week in 2026 (source)
Why This Matters: The return to office is real, and it’s reshaping commercial real estate fast. Rising rents, high-profile lease signings, and tighter availability suggest renewed confidence in the office market.
🏢 How often are you currently going into the office? |
😮💨 While GTA Rents Fall, Toronto Stays Pricey
Despite rents easing across the GTA, Toronto remains the third-most expensive city to rent in Canada.
Toronto rents have fallen 3.3% year-over-year, with the avg unit now at $2,618.
Nearby GTA cities are dropping more drastically:
Mississauga rents down 9.7% (one-bedroom, YoY)
Vaughan rents down 13.5% (one-bedroom, YoY)
Toronto stands out as the only major city in Canada where the rental burden (rent as a % of income) has eased since before the pandemic.
This marks the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year national rent declines, the longest streak since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Condos are no longer investor cash cows, with supply outpacing demand and rent growth weakening.
Why This Matters: Toronto’s rental market has clearly shifted in favour of tenants, with softening rents and weaker investor returns on condos. Investors relying on short-term cash flow from high rents may need to reassess pricing or reposition units. (source)
