It has literally never been so expensive to rent an apartment in the GTA

It has, literally, never been so expensive to rent a condo apartment in the Greater Toronto Area.

According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s latest Rental Market Report, the average rent for a one-bedroom condo in the GTA hit $2,269 in Q2 2022. The figure is not only a 20.2% year-over-year increase but surpasses the previous peak seen in Q3 2019.

Rent for a two-bedroom condo in the region also reached a record high in Q2, jumping 15.3% year-over-year to $2,979.

Bachelor and three-bedroom condo units posted double-digit annual growth in Q2 as well – prices rose 21.1% and 12.8%, respectively. The average bachelor in the GTA now runs $1,829, while a three-bedroom costs $3,790.

The average rent for bachelor and one-bedroom units in the City of Toronto is comparable to the aforementioned regional prices. However, a two-bedroom unit is $82 more expensive per month, while a three-bedroom costs an extra $142.

“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 population continues to grow alongside a booming regional economy,” said TRREB President Kevin Crigger.

“This means that an increasing number of people requiring a place to live will turn to the rental market.”

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A total of 13,203 condos were rented through the TRREB MLS® System in Q2 2022 — more than 10,500 of which were in the City of Toronto — an 11.4% drop from Q2 2021.

Rather than waning demand, though, the board says the dip in rentals was due to a “much more pronounced” decline in the number of listings; they fell nearly 30% year-over-year.

“Competition between renters continues to heat up, resulting in extremely strong upward pressure on average rents. 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,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

“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.”