SW Ontario Multifamily Market Report

Living cost advantage drove hot market. Due to a more suburban nature, Southwestern Ontario has a distinctive demographic landscape. Besides a steadily-growing immigrant population, the metro welcomes a large number of new residents who migrated from other parts of Ontario. Over the course of the pandemic, this trend accelerated, as a lack of housing affordability in the neighbouring GTA and remote-work arrangements intensified intraprovincial migration to the area. In 2022, residents from other Ontario regions contributed to one-third of the metro’s population growth, which bolstered demand for purpose-built rental units. These new residents tend to be high-income earners, leading to quick absorption of more costly apartments. This strong momentum elevated rent growth to 7.1 per cent last year, which outstripped the annual increase seen in both Toronto and Ottawa.