Waterloo’s Student Housing: A Smart Move

To get the real sense of the attraction of the Waterloo student market it is important to look at it as more than just temporary accommodation for students says Matt Elkind of the Condo Store.

Elkind says as much as housing units near the university are referred to as the student housing market because they are usually rented by students, the fact is Waterloo students tend to stay beyond their university days and work in the city. Also, we need to remember that Technology Park, considered Canada’s Silicon Valley, is nearby as well.

The area has attracted tech giants such as Microsoft, Google and other well-known companies. Waterloo also attracts a lot of tech incubators and a lot of it has to do with its inviting real estate prices at about $15 per square foot as opposed to $45 per square foot in Toronto.

Considering that it is only an hour away from Toronto, Waterloo is poised to benefit from the boom in Toronto as people will be looking towards “the loo” as prices rise in Tdot.

However, Waterloo itself, is booming with 500 start-ups in 2014, according to the Technology Triangle, while being home to a 1,000 established Tech Firms.

There is one caveat regarding the Waterloo real estate market however, and that is the fact that there is oversupply of five bedroom houses. These do not tend to be the most attractive investments, one or two bedroom units will attract wealthier and grad school students and are likely to be the accommodation of choice for students after they graduate considering that about 20% of the graduating student population decide to stay in Waterloo.