A report from CTV News in Canada. "A Canadian website with about 9,000 residential rental listing in Toronto said the pandemic has created an unprecedented market for renters, with many landlords offering tenants major incentives. One listing on the website advertises free rent until 2021. 'It's crazy. We've never seen anything like it. The stock market refers to this as a black swan event, where you can't predict it. A once in a life time kind of thing,' content director Paul Danison with Rentals.ca told CTV News Toronto."

The Toronto Star. "When Jean-Claude Demarchi recently rented out his family’s condo on Yonge Street, he didn’t get anywhere close to what he’d hoped for. Before the pandemic hit, he figures he would have been able to rent it out for $3,100 to $3,500 per month — but he had to drop the price to $2,800 to find a reliable tenant. 'I just wanted it off my hands, since I was taking on a mortgage in Liberty Village,' said Demarchi."

"In some Toronto neighbourhoods, rents have plummeted by more than 16 per cent in a year. The confluence of new construction and COVID-19 has produced twice as many condo rental listings in the GTA as last quarter and the highest vacancy rates for newer — 2005 or later — purpose-built rental units (apartments built for rent, not ownership) in a decade."

"Between last quarter and this one, the number of condominiums listed for rent in the GTA doubled to 23,388 units. Urbanation anticipates at least 20,000 additional condo units to be completed this year. 'In the past, landlords would have had a choice of renters, but that ship has sailed,' said Ipekian, owner of Andrew Ipekian Real Estate Group. 'Some landlords are nervous about giving renters a lower rate and getting locked in, but they don’t want their places to go empty.'"

From Now Toronto. "Dana Senagama, a Toronto economist at the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, says the trend of more units hitting the long-term rental market started in late 2019. Then, the city announced stricter Airbnb regulations that allow people to list their principal residence on short-term rental sites. 'We started to see a lot of these investor-held units being offloaded onto the market. The investors were trying to sell it or they were going to list it as a long-term rental,' she says. 'Then came COVID, and then it kind of compounded everything that already has been taking place.'"

"Geordie Dent, the executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association, says negotiations will be easier if you moved into your place recently. 'Landlords haven’t started reducing rent out of the goodness of their heart. They’re doing it because they see the market has changed,' he said."

From Morningstar Canada. "John Pasalis, President of Realosophy is here today to share his thoughts. I think a lot of people were looking at this rapid growth in sales and prices and we're thinking, Oh, my God, this is a bubble. So, if you are a renter, I mean – yeah, I mean certainly there is a lot more value now, because rents are down 15% to 20%, and it's a not bad deal. I mean would you spend $600,000 to buy a condominium or just rent that same condo for $1,700 or $1,800 a month. I mean $1800 a month is not lot like a bad deal, which means that for investors, it's probably not the best time to be buying. I mean you're paying – you know yesterday's or today's peak prices in a market where rents are down 15% - 20%, so why – I mean why would you rush to do that?"

The Globe and Mail. "Many people who keep watch over Canada’s real estate market are looking at the rising numbers of condos for sale in downtown Toronto and wondering what impact that swelling inventory will have on the psychology of buyers and sellers. Scott Ingram, a real estate agent with Century 21 Regal Realty Inc., says the 'new listings' statistic is showing a lot of churn happening behind the scenes. Nearly half of 'new' listings for condo apartments and condo townhouses in the 416 area code last month were actually relistings of the same property, he says. The number of listings cancelled each month has been climbing since April to reach 2,529 in September."

"When the new-listings number spikes, Mr. Ingram views that as a sign that agents are trying different strategies and prices. 'My overall hypothesis is, when the market’s hot, no one needs to relist because your Plan A always works,' he says. 'Agents are having to go to Plan B and Plan C in all of this.'"

"Sellers in the downtown condo market are suddenly battling on many fronts. Meanwhile, changes to short-term rental regulations mean that some landlords who rented out their units on platforms such as Airbnb no longer have that option. Some owners are fleeing the city and selling their units because they choose to; some investors are listing units for sale because they can no longer afford to carry them as rents decline amid falling demand. All the uncertainty is keeping some potential buyers on the sidelines as they wait to see if prices will fall."

"In September, in the 416 area code, the ratio of cancelled listings to sales stood above 140 per cent. Halfway through October, condo relistings as a percentage of sales reached 163. 'It’s getting worse,' Mr. Ingram says. 'It’s noticeably creeping up.'"

"Mr. Ingram believes some of the pent-up buyer demand left over from the spring shutdown has now been spent. 'There’s way more inventory now.' Mr. Ingram is advising sellers to be realistic about prices. In areas with high inventory, they can’t expect to match the price their neighbours achieved in March. Mr. Ingram says properties may sit until one motivated seller – perhaps they lost their job or they can’t afford to carry a unit with negative cash flow – caves and sells for less."

"'If one person drops their price, it’s kind of a race to the bottom. You don’t want to be the person chasing the prices down,' he says."

The Georgia Straight. "No one can doubt that the West Vancouver home rests on solid ground. According to the listing for 5235 Gulf Place, the three-level residence was 'masterfully built from the existing rock face' in the waterfront area. Though the home was carved on rock, its price is not set in stone. According to tracking by Zealty.ca, the 6,376-square-foot residence was listed by Engel & Volkers Vancouver on August 10, 2020 for $14,998,000."

"The listing was terminated on September 15. A new listing was made by the same realty agency on the same day for a reduced price of $11,998,000. On October 21, Zealty.ca, a real-estate information site operated by Holywell Properties, recorded another price reduction, amounting to $2,198,000. The current selling price of 5235 Gulf Place is now $9,800,000, down by $5,198,000 from its summer tag."

From Global News. "City of Calgary administration is recommending councillors hold off on approving any of 11 new communities a group of developers is proposing at a city committee. Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi said he will listen to each business case with an open mind, but will have some hard questions for developers. 'I think my colleagues on council and land developers need to really answer the question, why in the world would this be a good time to add to an already dangerous oversupply which would risk destabilizing the entire housing market and popping a bubble?' Nenshi asked."