Welcome to the CRE podcast, 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Toronto’s condo market has slowed to a crawl, with record unsold inventory and rising closing defaults. But could a pivot to purpose-built rental, a smarter approach to selling inventory, and a looming supply gap set up the next upturn?
In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome back Riz Dhanji, Founder and President of RAD Marketing, to explore how his firm has pivoted from condo sales to purpose-built rental leasing and advisory. Riz explains why leasing is a sales job, how to price a rental building suite by suite, why livable suite sizes beat micro-suites, and why a well-executed amenity program beats an over-the-top one.
He also shares why he has never seen this much inventory on developers’ books, how to move it without selling to the bottom of the bulk-buyer market, why closing defaults have climbed well beyond what he expected, and why developers have more holding power than he thought, with many betting on a turn around 2028 to 2029 as new supply dries up.
What You Will Learn:
- Why leasing purpose-built rental needs a real sales team, not just a tour guide
- How RAD prices a rental building suite by suite, from views to parking to bathroom counts
- Why larger, livable suites and proper bedroom sizes protect long-term rent growth
- Why a right-sized amenity program and community-based living can beat over-the-top amenities
- Why Riz has never seen this much unsold inventory on developers’ books
- Why resale agents struggle to sell new-build inventory, and what works instead
- How rising closing defaults are changing developer behavior
- Why developers have more holding power than expected and what a 2028–2029 turn could look like
Riz Dhanji is the Founder and President of RAD Marketing, a boutique development sales and advisory firm that also leads leasing for purpose-built rental projects. With 29 years in development sales and marketing, Riz and his team have sold more than $4 billion of real estate. Today, RAD works with developers on condo inventory sales, purpose-built rental leasing, and advisory for master-planned communities, with 2026 shaping up as its busiest year since the firm launched over eight years ago.
Episode Reference:
- Riz Dhanji on LinkedIn
- RAD Marketing Website
- Adam Powadiuk on LinkedIn
- Aaron Cameron on LinkedIn
- Commercial Real Estate Podcast on Apple Podcasts
- Commercial Real Estate Podcast on Spotify
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