Data shows that 1B and 2B rental units are by far the most plentiful unit types, together making up over 80% of all purpose-built rental units in southern Ontario’s 59 largest cities and towns. This means they contribute the bulk of rent revenues. However, 1B and 2B rents are often quite different, and the different quantities of each unit type mean that they contribute different amounts of rent revenues.
The table below shows the percentage that each unit type comprises of (1) the total number of units, and (2) estimated total average rent revenues. Estimated total average rent revenues are calculated by multiplying the quantity of units by corresponding average rents (calculations not shown in the table).
How should this table be read or interpreted? The table shows that 1B units constitute 35% of Mississauga’s total supply of purpose-built rentals, but contribute 32% of the city’s estimated total average rent revenues. Mississauga’s 2B and 3B+ units contribute slightly higher percentages to total average rent revenues than their respective percentage of the supply, while the city’s 0B (studio) units contribute a lower percentage to revenues than their percentage of supply. This is the same across all twenty cities, except Ajax in which 2B units join 0B and 1B units in contributing a lower percentage to revenues than to supply. This suggests that 0B and 1B units aren’t contributing as to overall revenues much as they could, although that’s probably going too far given the data available; it points to an avenue for further research, though.