IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v30y1993i1p103-126.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Conversions, Condominiums and Capital Gains: The Transformation of the Ontario Rental Housing Market

Author

Listed:
  • Marion Steele

    (Department of Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada NIG 2W1, Centre for Urban and Community Studies, University of Toronto)

Abstract

This paper challenges the widespread view that there was a rental housing supply crisis in the late 1980s in Ontario and shows that the increase in rental during that period was far greater than the number of new purpose-built rental units. Conversions and investor-owned condominiums made a major contribution. Contrary to conventional wisdom, conversions came from the relatively new stock and tenure switches unassociated with structural change were important. The importance of the conversion phenomenon is underlined by evidence that the conversion sector of the rental market was far looser in 1989 than in 1971. This suggests that the official rental vacancy rate, for large buildings, is misleading as an indicator of overall availability. The paper argues that the rise in the relative importance of conversions and investor-owned condominiums is no fluke, but rather is the consequence of the interaction of the income tax system and the high rates of inflation and capital gains of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as certain details of Ontario rent regulation. It argues that these forces have encouraged conversions of units from ownership to rental, additions of rental units in small buildings rather than in large, and non-corporate ownerships.

Suggested Citation

  • Marion Steele, 1993. "Conversions, Condominiums and Capital Gains: The Transformation of the Ontario Rental Housing Market," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 30(1), pages 103-126, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:30:y:1993:i:1:p:103-126
    DOI: 10.1080/00420989320080071
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/00420989320080071
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00420989320080071?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael J. Daly & Jack Jung, 1987. "The Taxation of Corporate Investment Income in Canada: An Analysis of Marginal Effective Tax Rates," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 20(3), pages 555-587, August.
    2. Smith, Lawrence B, 1974. "A Note on the Price Adjustment Mechanism for Rental Housing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(3), pages 478-481, June.
    3. Manuel Gottlieb, 1964. "Estimates of Residential Building, United States, 1840–1939," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gott64-1.
    4. George Fallis, 1990. "Housing Finance and Housing Subsidies in Canada," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 27(6), pages 877-903, December.
    5. Manuel Gottlieb, 1964. "Introduction to "Estimates of Residential Building, United States, 1840–1939"," NBER Chapters, in: Estimates of Residential Building, United States, 1840–1939, pages 1-6, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. George H. Lentz & Jeffrey D. Fisher, 1989. "Tax Reform and Organizational Forms for Holding Investment Real Estate: Corporation vs. Partnership," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 17(3), pages 314-337, September.
    7. Linneman, Peter, 1985. "An economic analysis of the homeownership decision," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 230-246, March.
    8. Patric H. Hendershott, 1980. "Real User Costs and the Demand for Single-Family Housing," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 11(2), pages 401-452.
    9. Krashinsky, Michael & Milne, William J., 1987. "Housing prices in Metropolitan Toronto : An empirical analysis," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 289-305.
    10. Arthur J. Hosios & James E. Pesando, 1992. "Monitoring Price Behaviour in the Resale Housing Market: A Note on Measurement and Implications for Policy," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 18(1), pages 57-61, March.
    11. James R. Follain & David C. Ling, 1988. "Another Look at Tenure Choice, Inflation, and Taxes," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 16(3), pages 207-229, September.
    12. Patric H. Hendershott & Marc T. Smith, 1988. "Housing Inventory Change and the Role of Existing Structures, 1961–1985," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 16(4), pages 364-378, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrejs Skaburskis, 1996. "Race and Tenure in Toronto," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 33(2), pages 223-252, March.
    2. John D. Benjamin & Peter Chinloy & William G. Hardin & Zhonghua Wu, 2008. "Clientele Effects and Condo Conversions," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 36(3), pages 611-634, September.
    3. John R. Miron, 1995. "Private Rental Housing: The Canadian Experience," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 32(3), pages 579-604, April.
    4. G. Donald Jud & John D. Benjamin & G. Stacy Sirmans, 1996. "What Do We Know about Apartments and Their Markets?," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 11(3), pages 243-258.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Isaac F. Megbolugbe & Peter D. Linneman, 1993. "Home Ownership," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 30(4-5), pages 659-682, May.
    2. Hilber, Christian A.L., 2005. "Neighborhood externality risk and the homeownership status of properties," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 213-241, March.
    3. Bellgardt Egon, 2000. "Wohnkosten und Besitzformwahl. Empirische Ergebnisse der Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe / Housing Costs and Tenure Choice. Empirical Results from the Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 220(6), pages 653-668, December.
    4. Kenneth Snowden, 2014. "A Historiography of Early NBER Housing and Mortgage Research," NBER Chapters, in: Housing and Mortgage Markets in Historical Perspective, pages 15-36, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Raymond Y. C. Tse & Bryan D. MacGregor, 1999. "Housing Vacancy and Rental Adjustment: Evidence from Hong Kong," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 36(10), pages 1769-1782, September.
    6. Jason Allen & Robert Amano & David P. Byrne & Allan W. Gregory, 2009. "Canadian city housing prices and urban market segmentation," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 42(3), pages 1132-1149, August.
    7. Hilber, Christian A.L., 2010. "New housing supply and the dilution of social capital," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 419-437, May.
    8. Joseph Gyourko & Richard Voith, 1993. "Leasing as a Lottery: Implications for Rational Building Surges and Increasing Vacancies," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 21(1), pages 83-106, March.
    9. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Lyytikäinen, Teemu, 2017. "Transfer taxes and household mobility: Distortion on the housing or labor market?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 57-73.
    10. Christian Almer & Stefan Boes & Stephan Nüesch, 2017. "Adjustments in the housing market after an environmental shock: evidence from a large-scale change in aircraft noise exposure," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(4), pages 918-938.
    11. Thomas J. Miceli, 1989. "Housing Rental Contracts and Adverse Selection with an Application to the Rent‐Own Decision," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 17(4), pages 403-421, December.
    12. Gabriel, Stuart A. & Nothaft, Frank E., 2001. "Rental Housing Markets, the Incidence and Duration of Vacancy, and the Natural Vacancy Rate," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 121-149, January.
    13. Winston T.H. Koh & Edward H.K. Ng, 2004. "Investing in Real Estate: Mortgage Financing Practices and Optimal Holding Period," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 7(1), pages 71-97.
    14. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Liu, Yingchun, 2008. "Explaining the black-white homeownership gap: The role of own wealth, parental externalities and locational preferences," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 152-174, June.
    15. Benjaming Dachis & Adam Found & Peter Tomlinson, 2013. "What Gets Measured Gets Managed: The Economic Burden of Business Property Taxes," e-briefs 166, C.D. Howe Institute.
    16. Philippe Bracke, 2021. "How Much Do Investors Pay for Houses?," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(S1), pages 41-73, March.
    17. Follain, James R. & Ling, David C., 1991. "The Federal Tax Subsidy to Housing and the Reduced Value of the Mortgage Interest Deduction," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 44(2), pages 147-68, June.
    18. John L. Glascock & Minbo Kim & C.F. Sirmans, 1993. "An Analysis of Office Market Rents: Parameter Constancy and Unobservable Variables," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 8(4), pages 625-638.
    19. Blackley, Dixie M. & Follain, James R., 1996. "In search of empirical evidence that links rent and user cost," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3-4), pages 409-431, June.
    20. Thomas Husted & David Nickerson, 2021. "Private Support for Public Disaster Aid," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-19, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:30:y:1993:i:1:p:103-126. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.