INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHT

Rental & Property Management

As our homes became the absolute epicentre of daily life, seismic shifts have occurred with respect to what people value when choosing where they want to live, evaluating options that may have never been possible or realistic prior to the pandemic.

What renters want has changed substantially. In multiple data segments reviewed by Local Logic, there have been considerable decreases in the need for public transit access – a reported decline of 24% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter. Comparatively, the need for access to grocery stores rose by 21% in the same reporting period. These trends, however, might be short term in nature as the economy rebounds, vaccination rates increase and pressures on the healthcare system stabilize.

Other trends are likely here for the long term, like where people need to live compared to their job or career demands as well as how much space and what kind of space people desire. For example, the increase in remote working means that many tenants are no longer constrained by their commute, allowing them the freedom to seek more space and venture to more suburban or rural areas.

A greater demand for more physical space has also spiked, creating even more demand for single and multi-family dwelling spaces across urban and rural areas. The layout and functionality of one’s home was supremely tested when every household member had to juggle various zoom calls concurrently. In situations like this, sometimes the only solution is more square footage.

With renters flocking for more suitable space, it’s been a volatile year and half for rental and property management companies while temporary legislation changes presented challenges to support the needs of renters looking to review and evaluate potential homes. Adrian Kulakowsky, Owner of Rentals 101 in Niagara, experienced these challenges firsthand working with his team throughout this period.

“In Spring of 2021, we made a conscious effort to prepare ourselves for virtual visits and tested video walkthroughs, FaceTime visits and 360-degree tours. However, tenants were much keener on physically seeing the properties. The priority was working with our current tenants to ensure complete safety; implementing several internal regulations for our visits, including restricted group sizes, and limiting how often we were taking groups through an individual property. Hopefully we will see changes occurring whereby the regulation isn’t so arbitrary and allows for more accountability with tenants and landlords.” Said Adrian.

Many are hoping for stronger policy that fuel collaboration between renters, landlords and governing authorities. With landlords needing to manage rising costs alongside rent controls and pandemic-related restrictions prohibiting evictions, it is understandable to expect that individual investors might step away from the market. Although some rental types have declined, like student housing and short-term vacation rentals, the overall demand has not subsided at all.

“I think as we all have seen over the past 18 months, the price of housing has had a major impact on the rental market, with rental prices continuing to rise. The pace at which properties get rented out has greatly increased as well, which has made it all that more imperative for our Property Manager's to do their due diligence in pre-screening and screening applicants with our rigorous processes,” says Adrian.

In response to the market shifts, property owners, new developers, and urban planners are responding accordingly. The shifting value across different amenities will certainly impact the future of how a community fundamentally operates. How this unfolds over the next few years is expected to bring forth a slew of fresh ideas and approaches to urban living.

For the current term, the shortage of inventory leaves little breathing room. When seeking a rental property to call home the landlord can sometimes be as important as the home itself. With the increased demand for properties alongside the volatile backdrop of policy, the need for fair and ethical rental and property management companies is paramount. When speaking with Adrian, it’s clear the team at Rentals 101 exude a unique dedication to doing things the right way.

Our focus has always been about taking care of our existing clientele, granting us a strong reputation and referral base that has allowed us to scale and offer a variety of property management services in multiple market segments.

Whether you are evaluating the rental market to find a home or looking for an investment opportunity, the landscape is shifting at an accelerated pace because of the pandemic and is worth a closer look on all fronts.

Sources: https://rentals.ca/blog/3rd-annual-rental-market-predictions-from-experts-across-canada

Adrian Kulakowsky, Owner, Rentals 101

Adrian Kulakowsky is a Real Estate investor and owner of Rentals101, one of Niagara's largest Property Management companies, managing over 225 student and family properties across Niagara. Rentals 101 provides a high level of service and accountability.