Firm launches $500 million acquisition strategy
Jesta Group plans to spend $500 million acquiring more than 1,000 unsold condominium units in Toronto, positioning itself to capitalize on a weakening condo market and new federal tax incentives aimed at boosting rental housing supply.
The Montreal-based developer said it has already completed its first acquisition, paying $30 million for nearly all remaining unsold units in a recently completed downtown Toronto condominium building near Toronto Metropolitan University.
According to reporting, the company declined to identify the building, developer, or exact number of units involved in the initial transaction.
Anthony O’Brien, senior managing director at Jesta Group, said the company is approaching developers directly to purchase large blocks of unsold inventory.
“We’re approaching developers saying, ‘Would you like to sell all of your inventory?’” O’Brien told The Globe and Mail.
The acquisition forms part of a 12-month strategy focused on bulk condominium purchases in downtown Toronto. In a company news release, Jesta described the initiative as one of the city’s first institutional-scale condominium acquisition programs.
Condo slowdown creates opportunity
Jesta’s move comes amid a significant slowdown in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area condominium market.
Market research firm Urbanation reported that condominium sales in the first quarter of 2026 fell to a 35-year low. The firm also said there were 4,295 completed but unsold condominium units at the end of the quarter, more than double year-over-year levels.
At the same time, no new condominium projects launched in the region during the quarter, marking the first such occurrence in decades, according to Urbanation data cited by CTV News.
O’Brien said the current environment allows investors to acquire newly completed units at prices below replacement cost.
“It’ll cost us more to build brand new and deliver in three years than to buy brand new finished product ready to lease tomorrow,” he told The Globe and Mail.
Jesta said it intends to convert the units into rental housing. The strategy has been aided by the federal Harmonized Sales Tax rebate program, which applies to qualifying rental conversion projects where construction began before March 31, 2026.
The rebate program is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2027.
Rental strategy and financing
Jesta said its acquisition program will be financed through a combination of equity and debt, including $100 million in equity and $400 million in debt financing. The company plans to contribute $20 million of its own capital while raising additional investment from family offices and institutional partners.
The company said it is targeting downtown Toronto buildings with at least 30 unsold units available for purchase. It is not pursuing projects in suburban areas such as Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
According to The Globe and Mail, Jesta expects to pay between $700 and $800 per sq. ft. for units, focusing largely on studio and one-bedroom apartments averaging less than $500,000 each.
The developer plans to hold the units as rentals for at least five years before potentially selling them into what it expects will be a tighter housing market later in the decade.
“We feel demand will increase at that time,” O’Brien said. “That will have upward pressure on pricing, and that will be a good window to exit on the strategy.”
The first transaction was brokered by Cushman & Wakefield executive vice-president Jeff Lever, who said institutional bulk condominium acquisitions could become a more active segment of Toronto’s housing market.
