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+--- Thread: Finding Rentals (/showthread.php?tid=429)
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Finding Rentals - Viewfromthe42 - 06-22-2015
Does anyone have any good local methods for finding good rentals? I tend to go around and look for signs, or management information, or padmapper.com, but at times I feel the pickings are a bit slim. Maybe I just haven't done this in years and it shows.
RE: Finding Rentals - BuildingScout - 06-22-2015
Kijiji seems to be the way to go nowadays, but the market is ripe for an application that lists all available rentals.
RE: Finding Rentals - tomh009 - 06-22-2015
Kijiji has by far the most listings, but PadMapper is a pretty good aggregator from Kijiji and other sources.
The rental market in K-W is pretty tight, though it'll get better as the BarrelYards and more of the recent University Zone housing come online.
RE: Finding Rentals - BuildingScout - 06-22-2015
(06-22-2015, 10:06 AM)tomh009 Wrote: The rental market in K-W is pretty tight,
It is, which makes the article on the record about oversupply all the more ridiculous.
As prices go down on student residences, they will likely release units in places like Park, York and Metropolitan apartments, which are already family units. Thus transferring the oversupply in student residences to the general rental market.
RE: Finding Rentals - Viewfromthe42 - 06-22-2015
Padmapper is a good aggregator for me, because location is key. But I see how quickly postings disappear and are rented out, and I wonder about its lag, or how many ads don't fit its keywords and wind up being missed.
I don't think that the Barrelyards will change the market much, if the $2000+ rates I hear are accurate. The 1-3 bedroom places in Northdale, if they aren't priced similarly and come with a changing landscape, inside and outside each building's walls, could.
RE: Finding Rentals - Andy - 06-22-2015
Padmapper does miss some listings. At least it did when I was looking ~2 years ago. Another thing places tend to do is pull and repost there ads a lot, so you get a lot of "new" listings on padmapper that turn out to be the same.
It's still the best service for finding an apartment by location though.
I didn't find the rental market too tight. I guess it depends on what people are looking for. What I did notice is that there really isn't that much price variance by location. I was looking in Kitchener though. I suppose it would get expensive closer to UW.
RE: Finding Rentals - Canard - 06-22-2015
Rental what? Lots of things are rentable.
RE: Finding Rentals - BuildingScout - 06-22-2015
(06-22-2015, 12:48 PM)Andy Wrote: I didn't find the rental market too tight. I guess it depends on what people are looking for. What I did notice is that there really isn't that much price variance by location. I was looking in Kitchener though. I suppose it would get expensive closer to UW.
Hmm, I find a big lack of rental units in the quadrangle: Union, Westmount, University, King. I'm not saying there are none, rather there are very few.
RE: Finding Rentals - schooner77 - 06-23-2015
I would think that there is a fair amount of rental units in that quadrangle, given the Barrel Yards and other new buildings, it's just very pricey.
RE: Finding Rentals - MidTowner - 06-23-2015
I have found that padmapper misses a lot. Kijiji is by far and away the most common in the Region, and oftentimes I've found that the ads aren't captured by padmapper for whatever reason.
I wish kijiji had a mapping function. It seems logical to me that location is the single biggest criterion in a place to live (what is it they say about real estate?), but I know not everyone feels that way. Sometimes kijiji ads don't even list the address or neighbourhood, which is frustrating. But it's the most comprehensive listing.
I've generally found the rental market balanced in KW the last few years; maybe that's not true closer to the schools.
RE: Finding Rentals - Spokes - 06-23-2015
(06-22-2015, 10:33 AM)BuildingScout Wrote:(06-22-2015, 10:06 AM)tomh009 Wrote: The rental market in K-W is pretty tight,
It is, which makes the article on the record about oversupply all the more ridiculous.
As prices go down on student residences, they will likely release units in places like Park, York and Metropolitan apartments, which are already family units. Thus transferring the oversupply in student residences to the general rental market.
It's particularly tight though if you don't want to live in a building geared towards students (I don't know your age/demographic).
There's definitely fewer buildings that aren't predominantly students.
RE: Finding Rentals - BuildingScout - 06-23-2015
(06-23-2015, 10:17 AM)Spokes Wrote:(06-22-2015, 10:33 AM)BuildingScout Wrote: It is, which makes the article on the record about oversupply all the more ridiculous.
As prices go down on student residences, they will likely release units in places like Park, York and Metropolitan apartments, which are already family units. Thus transferring the oversupply in student residences to the general rental market.
It's particularly tight though if you don't want to live in a building geared towards students (I don't know your age/demographic).
There's definitely fewer buildings that aren't predominantly students.
Exactly. I'd like a place not too far from Uptown/Downtown in a building that isn't mostly students. There are units available meeting these conditions to be sure, but usually a mere handful. If you are willing to live by the highway or right smack on the middle of nowhere, the number of choices goes up substantially. Still vacancy rate of 2.6% is considered to be on the low side.
RE: Finding Rentals - MidTowner - 06-23-2015
(06-23-2015, 10:42 AM)BuildingScout Wrote: Exactly. I'd like a place not too far from Uptown/Downtown in a building that isn't mostly students. There are units available meeting these conditions to be sure, but usually a mere handful. If you are willing to live by the highway or right smack on the middle of nowhere, the number of choices goes up substantially. Still vacancy rate of 2.6% is considered to be on the low side.
Are you talking specifically high-rises/big purpose-built apartment buildings? I can see Uptown being saturated with students, but closer to downtown I've found them less common, especially in smaller buildings. Of course, there are reasons to want to live in a big professionally-managed building, too.
RE: Finding Rentals - tomh009 - 06-23-2015
(06-23-2015, 10:47 AM)MidTowner Wrote:(06-23-2015, 10:42 AM)BuildingScout Wrote: Exactly. I'd like a place not too far from Uptown/Downtown in a building that isn't mostly students. There are units available meeting these conditions to be sure, but usually a mere handful. If you are willing to live by the highway or right smack on the middle of nowhere, the number of choices goes up substantially. Still vacancy rate of 2.6% is considered to be on the low side.
Are you talking specifically high-rises/big purpose-built apartment buildings? I can see Uptown being saturated with students, but closer to downtown I've found them less common, especially in smaller buildings. Of course, there are reasons to want to live in a big professionally-managed building, too.
Downtown will have more choices next year, with 1 Victoria and City Centre open for residents. While these are condo buildings, there will be a fair number of units on the rental market as well.
RE: Finding Rentals - Spokes - 06-23-2015
(06-23-2015, 10:42 AM)BuildingScout Wrote:(06-23-2015, 10:17 AM)Spokes Wrote: It's particularly tight though if you don't want to live in a building geared towards students (I don't know your age/demographic).
There's definitely fewer buildings that aren't predominantly students.
Exactly. I'd like a place not too far from Uptown/Downtown in a building that isn't mostly students. There are units available meeting these conditions to be sure, but usually a mere handful. If you are willing to live by the highway or right smack on the middle of nowhere, the number of choices goes up substantially. Still vacancy rate of 2.6% is considered to be on the low side.
For a number of years we lived at the corner of Queen and Courtland and loved both the location and the unit/building. We were looking for something very similar to you.