TORONTO — Landlords are lining up to sign Rees Nam and their partner as tenants, even though the two have already found an apartment in Toronto – a far cry from when Nam was last on the hunt, two years ago.
Back then, it took a personal connection for Nam to secure a lease, but this time around they and their partner signed one a week after seeing the apartment, which is both bigger and cheaper than their current unit.
“It was very quick,” said Nam, who uses gender-neutral pronouns. “Quicker than what I experienced a couple years ago when I was looking for a place. I found that not only were the rental prices high, but the turnaround was not that fast.”
The process was so quick this time that landlords have been following up with Nam and their partner for weeks, calling to see if they’re still interested in seeing soon-to-be-vacant units.
The economic uncertainty wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has turned Toronto’s rental market upside down, industry insiders said.
Power once wielded exclusively by landlords has been passed to their would-be tenants, giving renters the chance to negotiate lower prices – and bigger perks.
Nam and their partner, for instance, asked that the unit be painted before they moved in. And they were able to choose a place with a hands-on landlord with long-term tenants.
The market has been flooded with rental units previously used as AirBnBs or occupied by people who have since moved in with parents or friends to save money, said Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations.
“You’re hearing this kind of across the board. A lot of people are moving into units that are semi-furnished and looked like they were ready to go as an AirBnB,” Dent said. “The other area where I think you might see some increasing supplies (is) from student housing.”
According to a report released this month by the online brokerage Zoocasa, the number of condos listed for rent in Toronto spiked 45 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, compared to the same time last year. In the downtown area, it grew a whopping 80 per cent.
The average condo rental price across the city dropped by six per cent over the previous year, the report said, as the number of condos leased declined by 25 per cent in the same period.
Sara Rowshanbin, a broker who represents buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants, said her business has seen a dramatic shift during the pandemic, with fewer people looking to rent.
“When I usually have tenant clients this time of the year, it’s almost exclusively students or new immigrants looking to secure housing before the school year starts,” she said. “And that’s come to almost a full standstill.”
But for those who are looking for units, she said, the benefits are manifold.
“In the downtown core, which is where most of my tenants would be looking at this time of the year, it’s so, so much easier in terms of finding a better price,” Rowshanbin said.
She said some have been shocked by the shift.
“We forget in Toronto, the market doesn’t always go up in a balanced situation. It sometimes stays the same, and once in a while it goes down a little,” she said. “The extent that we’ve seen leases go down, in the midst of a pandemic especially, it’s actually a little bit welcome. It’s part of the balance.”
William Blake, a landlord and member of the Ontario Landlords Association, agreed.
“Let’s face it, landlords have been having a very solid, strong market. We’ve had the advantage over the past 10 years especially,” he said. “But tenants now have higher expectations. They can shop around, so landlords have to take that extra step to make their place stand out.”
Blake said he has been upgrading the appliances in his units and lowering rents, he said – anything to make them “sparkle.”
He said he hopes this serves as a wake-up call to absentee landlords.
“The professional landlords who take being a landlord very, very seriously, like myself, we’re still doing very well. The turbulence is fine,” he said.
“But it’s the amateur landlords who thought, ‘Oh, it’s just an investment. I don’t have to work at all. I just put people in and collect the rent.’ These are the people who are going to be having a hard time during this period.”
Most job search advice is cookie-cutter. The advice you’re following is almost certainly the same advice other job seekers follow, making you just another candidate following the same script.
In today’s hyper-competitive job market, standing out is critical, a challenge most job seekers struggle with. Instead of relying on generic questions recommended by self-proclaimed career coaches, which often lead to a forgettable interview, ask unique, thought-provoking questions that’ll spark engaging conversations and leave a lasting impression.
Your level of interest in the company and the role.
Contributing to your employer’s success is essential.
You desire a cultural fit.
Here are the top four questions experts recommend candidates ask; hence, they’ve become cliché questions you should avoid asking:
“What are the key responsibilities of this position?”
Most likely, the job description answers this question. Therefore, asking this question indicates you didn’t read the job description. If you require clarification, ask, “How many outbound calls will I be required to make daily?” “What will be my monthly revenue target?”
“What does a typical day look like?”
Although it’s important to understand day-to-day expectations, this question tends to elicit vague responses and rarely leads to a deeper conversation. Don’t focus on what your day will look like; instead, focus on being clear on the results you need to deliver. Nobody I know has ever been fired for not following a “typical day.” However, I know several people who were fired for failing to meet expectations. Before accepting a job offer, ensure you’re capable of meeting the employer’s expectations.
“How would you describe the company culture?”
Asking this question screams, “I read somewhere to ask this question.” There are much better ways to research a company’s culture, such as speaking to current and former employees, reading online reviews and news articles. Furthermore, since your interviewer works for the company, they’re presumably comfortable with the culture. Do you expect your interviewer to give you the brutal truth? “Be careful of Craig; get on his bad side, and he’ll make your life miserable.” “Bob is close to retirement. I give him lots of slack, which the rest of the team needs to pick up.”
Truism: No matter how much due diligence you do, only when you start working for the employer will you experience and, therefore, know their culture firsthand.
“What opportunities are there for professional development?”
When asked this question, I immediately think the candidate cares more about gaining than contributing, a showstopper. Managing your career is your responsibility, not your employer’s.
Cliché questions don’t impress hiring managers, nor will they differentiate you from your competition. To transform your interaction with your interviewer from a Q&A session into a dynamic discussion, ask unique, insightful questions.
Here are my four go-to questions—I have many more—to accomplish this:
“Describe your management style. How will you manage me?”
This question gives your interviewer the opportunity to talk about themselves, which we all love doing. As well, being in sync with my boss is extremely important to me. The management style of who’ll be my boss is a determining factor in whether or not I’ll accept the job.
“What is the one thing I should never do that’ll piss you off and possibly damage our working relationship beyond repair?”
This question also allows me to determine whether I and my to-be boss would be in sync. Sometimes I ask, “What are your pet peeves?”
“When I join the team, what would be the most important contribution you’d want to see from me in the first six months?”
Setting myself up for failure is the last thing I want. As I mentioned, focus on the results you need to produce and timelines. How realistic are the expectations? It’s never about the question; it’s about what you want to know. It’s important to know whether you’ll be able to meet or even exceed your new boss’s expectations.
“If I wanted to sell you on an idea or suggestion, what do you need to know?”
Years ago, a candidate asked me this question. I was impressed he wasn’t looking just to put in time; he was looking for how he could be a contributing employee. Every time I ask this question, it leads to an in-depth discussion.
Other questions I’ve asked:
“What keeps you up at night?”
“If you were to leave this company, who would follow?”
“How do you handle an employee making a mistake?”
“If you were to give a Ted Talk, what topic would you talk about?”
“What are three highly valued skills at [company] that I should master to advance?”
“What are the informal expectations of the role?”
“What is one misconception people have about you [or the company]?”
Your questions reveal a great deal about your motivations, drive to make a meaningful impact on the business, and a chance to morph the questioning into a conversation. Cliché questions don’t lead to meaningful discussions, whereas unique, thought-provoking questions do and, in turn, make you memorable.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.
CALGARY – Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported a third-quarter profit of $2.27 billion, down from $2.34 billion in the same quarter last year.
The company says the profit amounted to $1.06 per diluted share for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 compared with $1.06 per diluted share a year earlier.
Product sales totalled $10.40 billion, down from $11.76 billion in the same quarter last year.
Daily production for the quarter averaged 1,363,086 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 1,393,614 a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, Canadian Natural says it earned 97 cents per diluted share for the quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $1.30 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 90 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.
CALGARY – Cenovus Energy Inc. reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year as its revenue edged lower.
The company says it earned $820 million or 42 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $1.86 billion or 97 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $14.25 billion, down from $14.58 billion in the same quarter last year.
Total upstream production in the quarter amounted to 771,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 797,000 a year earlier.
Total downstream throughput was 642,900 barrels per day compared with 664,300 in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Cenovus says its funds flow amounted to $1.05 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from adjusted funds flow of $1.81 per diluted share a year earlier.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.
