Guelph Apartment Market

Guelph is located west of the GTA but close enough that many people commute to Toronto from the city. Guelph has a total population of 127,009 people and approximately 321 apartment buildings containing 6,634 rental apartments. This means the city has an apartment rate of 5.2 apartments per 100 people, which is roughly average for the province and similar to Waterloo but much lower than Kitchener. Building sizes are spread out nicely in Guelph, which has 238 buildings under 20 units in size, 71 buildings between 20 to 100 units in size, and 12 buildings over 100 units in size.

Vacancy Rates and Average Rents

Guelph has an overall vacancy rate of 4.1%, higher than Kitchener and Waterloo but significantly lower than Cambridge. Vacancy rates for all apartment styles in Guelph almost doubled from 2008 to 2009, suggesting weakening demand. Average rents range from $648 for bachelor apartments to $1,044 for 3+ bedroom apartments, almost as high as Waterloo. Approximately 91% of the city’s apartment market is comprised of 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom apartments and vacancies are lowest amongst these two apartment styles, implying the Guelph rental apartment market is balanced and mature.

For Investors

Guelph has seen no new rental apartment construction in a long time. Students attending the University of Guelph play a major role in the south end of the city and parts of the city’s downtown, which may represent opportunities for investors interested in small-scale student housing. Investors will find most apartment properties in Guelph are aging and spread around the city geographically and parts of the city are economically stagnant. Guelph is superficially comparable to Waterloo in many respects, but is a market that should be approached with care by investors since vacancies and average rents have shown recent trends which may indicate a troubled rental apartment market.