Condo rents across the Greater Toronto Area have ballooned since last summer. The average cost of renting a small bachelor unit is now $1,829 per month. That’s about a 25 per cent increase since last July, according to new year-over-year data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

A one-bedroom now goes for $2,269  (a 20 per cent rise). The average two-bedroom went up 15.3 per cent to $2,979. The price for both reached record levels—past the previous peak in Q3 2019.

There were 13,203 condo apartment rental transactions reported through TRREB  in Q2 2022 – down 11.4 per cent compared to Q2 2021. As TRREB reports, the dip in rentals was not the result of waning demand, but instead a much more pronounced dip in the number of rental listings, dropping by almost 30 per cent. Less choice led to more difficulty for renters to get deals done.

“Expect rental market conditions to tighten further in the coming months. Higher borrowing costs may have temporarily precluded home buying for some households, but the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) population continues to grow alongside a booming regional economy. This means that an increasing number of people requiring a place to live will turn to the rental market,” said TRREB President Kevin Crigger.

Renting out a bachelor unit in a townhouse now costs almost 22 per cent more in Q2 2022. A one-bedroom went up, too, almost 15 per cent to $2,139. The City of Toronto remains the most expensive place to rent, but smaller cities follow close behind. For instance a one-bedroom in Burlington costs $2,208 compared to $2,300 in downtown Toronto. On average, the Peel Region is now almost on par with Toronto for condo rents.

“Competition between renters continues to heat up, resulting in extremely strong upward pressure on average rents,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer. “Rental supply remains a major issue in the GTA and will become more pronounced in the short term, as an increasing share of well-employed individuals turn to the rental market.

“Policymakers need to develop a diversity of options to bring more rental supply online, whether we’re talking about investor-held condominium apartments or purpose-built rental developments.”