Rent to Own Homes in Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario, is a thriving city with a lively university-town feel. Its bustling downtown is home to an eclectic restaurant scene with plenty of attractive outdoor patio seating, as well as art venues, craft breweries, and local artisanal businesses. Several farmer’s markets feature meats, produce, maple syrup, and honey from the city’s large surrounding rural area.

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A short drive north takes you into the countryside, where you can explore some of Canada’s most beautiful lakes and experience world-class sailing. To the west, explore Prince Edward County by bike or take a tour of the region’s many wineries.

Nicknamed “The Limestone City” because of its many historical limestone buildings, Kingston is a city with a rich history. Just off one of Canada’s major highways, Kingston’s clean and charming downtown, excellent schools, reliable public transport, and burgeoning real estate market make it an excellent choice for those looking to settle down, raise a family, or start a business. 

In this article, we will discuss the benefits of renting to own in Kingston and how to find rent-to-own listings in Canada.

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Kingston Real Estate Trends

Kingston real estate prices have shown a steady upward trend over the past five years, with a significant boom during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Despite the rapid growth, the market has seen some fluctuations in recent times. In June 2024, home sales through the Kingston and Area Real Estate Association totalled 354 units, marking a 25.5% increase from June 2023. This surge represents the best performance for June in the past three years, although it remains below the five and ten-year averages.

The average price of homes sold in June 2024 was $644,766, up by a marginal 0.1% from the previous year. The year-to-date average price was $627,701, reflecting a slight increase of 0.3% from the first half of 2023.

The number of new residential listings in June 2024 increased by 9.5% compared to June 2023, reaching 655 new listings. Active residential listings at the end of June numbered 1,176 units, up significantly by 44.6% from the same period in 2023, marking the highest level in over five years.

The market continues to attract out-of-town buyers and investors, driven by Kingston’s relatively lower price point compared to the Greater Toronto Area. As remote work remains popular, Kingston has become increasingly appealing to young professionals and families. However, rising interest rates and supply challenges may temper the pace of sales and price growth in the near future.

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Transportation

Kingston Transit runs an excellent bus system, servicing the urban areas of Kingston and the neighbouring community of Amherstview via 23 routes, seven days a week. Additional routes are also added during peak traffic hours. If you need a long distance option, Coach Canada provides service to Montreal and Ottawa.

Kingston lies halfway between Ottawa and Toronto, about a 3-hour drive from each major hub. Highway 401 skirts along the northern edge of town, while Highways 2 and 33 run through the city center. The city is connected to the ViaRail system mainline and is a main stop between Toronto and Ottawa and Toronto and Montreal. Regular ferries operate between downtown Kingston and Wolfe Island. Seasonal ferry service from Cape Vincent offers a route in and out of the US.

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Economy

Kingston has a diverse economy, with the private sector accounting for about half of all employment. The most active public sectors are health care, government (including military operations), tourism, and higher education. The current major employers in the city are The Canadian Forces Base Kingston, Queen’s University, and Providence Care Hospital.

Tourism in Kingston has been growing steadily and is becoming one of the city’s top-performing economic sectors. Campaigns like Downtown Kingston! and Yellow Door, as well as festivals like the Limestone City Blues Festival, attract thousands of visitors each year.

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Education

The variety of educational opportunities in Kingston is second to none. Kingston is home to three higher education institutions: Queen’s University, the Royal Military College of Canada, and St. Lawrence College. There are two English and two French public elementary school boards providing K-12 education, and numerous private schools that cater to a variety of needs.

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How Rent to Own a Home in Kingston Could Be Beneficial

The rent to own a home program is a great way to get your foot in the door in the Kingston real estate market. Even if you lack the money for a down payment or have other concerns such as a credit score that needs improving, our rent to own Kingston program can set you on the path to achieving your investment and homeownership dreams.

Why consider renting to own? Let’s say you’re financially stable but currently lack the money to make a down payment on a home. In this case, you have two options:

Option 1: Continue to find rental homes in Kingston

Continue to rent while saving money for the next few years until you are able to afford the down payment. In this scenario, none of the money spent on rent will be invested in the property, and you will also have to contend with the increasing price of houses in the area (forecast to be 9.2% for the coming year.) 

That means if you have your eye on a home that costs $550,000 now, in three years it’s projected to cost around $720,000 (rounding up to a +10% price increase for the next three years.) A 20% down payment on that home in three years will be around $144,000.

Option 2: Rent-to-own a house in Kingston

Rent to own a home in Kingston through our rent to own program. When you rent to own in Kingston with Requity, we use a more modest 5% growth model to assess the value growth of your home. 

Using the same example as in the previous scenario, this would mean that the value of your home in three years would be assessed as $632,500 rather than $720,000. A 20% down payment on that same home would be $126,5000, meaning a savings of $17,500!

For more information about rent to own programs, read our article on what is rent to own

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Rent-to-Own in Kingston

Requity Homes offers a new path to homeownership by helping you live in your home dream today while saving up your down payment one month at a time. We want you to start living the way you always imagined. Our modern rent to own programs have helped people just like you realize their financial and investment goals through homeownership, regardless of their credit score or mortgage eligibility.

Ready for homeownership? Apply online to rent-to-own a home in Kingston