Student Rental Condos are Booming

I’m getting more and more requests these days from my clients for student-oriented investment opportunities. The fact is that student rental condos are very hot right now.

Projects like University Suites in Kingston and The Academy Condos in Scarborough were among the best selling condos in the country in 2014, and many of my clients took advantage of these projects as well.

Investing in student rentals has probably never been more popular and here are a few reasons why:

First of all, student housing can provide great monthly cash flows. Students are more inclined to share space and therefore as a landlord you can charge by the room instead of by the size or the unit type.

Secondly, student housing gives you a very predictable and steady rental pool especially if your property is located in close proximity to a major University campus.

And finally, students actually make very good tenants from a rental payment standpoint because 90% of the time it’s not the student who is paying the rent – it’s mom and dad. And mom and dad are increasingly wealthy and want to put their children in the best possible environment for success.

But what is really underpinning the student rental trend is the fact that higher education is a booming industry in this country. University enrollments are up exponentially over the last decade and they continue to grow each and every year.

Demand for student housing is far exceeding the current supply in cities across Canada and no more is this point illustrated better than at Ryerson University where there are over 38,000 students and only 850 residence beds available.

Let me just say that again so you don’t miss it…

Ryerson has 38,000 students and only 850 residence beds!!!

The opportunity is huge and the shortage of student housing is only getting worse every year as Ryerson continues to grow.

The Future of Student Housing

The old stereotype of student housing being dilapidated old houses with 6-8 students sharing 4 bedrooms and 1 shower is slowly going away as students are more discerning than ever and are paying more than ever for their education.

Just like anyone else, students prefer to live in beautiful spaces that are clean, modern, with great amenities and that are located as close as possible from where they need to be every day – their school campus.

Upon graduation, students are entering a marketplace more competitive than ever before and having just an undergraduate degree is no longer good enough to get a good job. As a result, graduate schools are seeing huge growth too as students are staying in school longer and longer.

This is why student-oriented condos are so popular – they address the growing need for high-end accommodation for the discerning student looking for every advantage they can get.

Introducing Grid Condos – Located Right Beside Ryerson

Recently I was invited for a sneak preview of Grid Condos by CentreCourt Developments. I will be one of a handful of agents getting first access to this project and I’m excited to bring this opportunity to my clients and subscribers.

This project is located right beside Ryerson at Jarvis and Dundas and is perfect for the investor looking to take advantage of the student-oriented condo boom.

This project is launching very soon and I will have all the details for you next week but and I wanted to let you know about it now because it is expected to sell out very quickly.

Please register for the Investor Package here, and for an overview of the project make sure you listen to my interview with Shamez Virani – VP of CentreCourt Developments here.

Make sure you subscribe to get all the True Condos podcast episodes on iTunes.

CentreCourt’s last project was Core Condos, which is located just around the corner from Grid Condos. It was launched in early 2014 and it sold out in just 2 days!

Their other buildings – Karma condos, INDX condos, and Peter Street Condos were all 100% sold out within weeks of launching.

Why do CentreCourt projects always sell out so quickly?

Yes, it’s true they have great design, great locations and great features, but the real reason is because they are priced to sell.

CentreCourt Developments values the investor-buyer and they want to make sure they are happy and they keep coming back. The best way to do that is to leave money on the table so that there is built-in profit, and great cash-flow potential.

Another big advantage for the investor is that because they are able to sell out so quickly, they are able to start construction quickly and finish the building on time.

Grid Condos – Project Details:

– 52 storeys (47 actual levels because 4,13,14,24,34,44 are removed)

– 528 units

Suite Types:

1 bedroom units,

1 bed+dens (most of the units are 1 bed+dens where the den is convertible to a 2nd bedroom),

2 bedroom with 1 bathroom.

Maintenance fees: $0.57 PSF (water and hydro metered separately)

Occupancy: August 2018