The verdict is in — the old way of doing business is over. Join us at Inman Connect New York Jan. 23-25, when together we’ll conquer today’s market challenges and prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities. Defy the market and bet big on your future.
A listing in Toronto for half of a queen bed is drawing attention to how far off the rails the Canadian city’s rental market has gotten.
The listing, posted on Facebook Marketplace in January and reported on first by CTV News Toronto advertises half of a queen bed in a Toronto condo for $900 CAD per month. The ad, which has since been removed, demanded an up-front payment of $1,900, including the first and last month’s rent plus an extra $100 for a key fob.
“Looking for an easy going FEMALE to share the master bedroom and the ONE QUEEN SIZE BED,” the listing read. “I have been previously sharing the bedroom which ONLY HAS ONE QUEEN SIZE with roommate I found on Facebook and it worked out perfectly well!”
The listing caught the attention of Toronto real estate agent Anya Ettinger who lambasted it in a TikTok that has garnered over 600,000 views.
“It shows really how sad it is here. I mean people are — rightfully so — so committed to staying in the city that there is a market for stuff like this,” she told CTV News Toronto.
Ettinger said she had never seen a comparable rental before, but that she has encountered other desperate living situations, such as a prior instance where a bunk bed in a house’s foyer was offered for $650 CAD monthly.
While recent reports have hinted at Toronto’s rental market slowing slightly, the average rent is still at a staggeringly high $2,607 CAD a month, and other Canadian cities aren’t much cheaper, with Vancouver one-bedrooms averaging at $2,872 CAD a month and one-bedrooms in Burnaby charging an average of $2,647 CAD per month.
