Toronto saw one of the biggest jumps in rent prices in the GTA, and experts warn a cooling housing market could mean high rental costs are here to stay.

A new real estate report shows that the price of housing in the GTA has skyrocketed and rents have returned to pre-pandemic rates. Recent data from Bullpen Research & Consulting and TorontoRentals.com shows the amalgamated average cost for rental units and condos combined in downtown Toronto is $2,325 a month, a 15.9 per cent annual increase. The price tag is much higher when square footage is taken into account, as Toronto has by far seen the most dramatic uptick in rent prices in the GTA.

How much is rent in Toronto?

Rental rates have skyrocketed in Toronto, more than any other city in the GTA. Here's how the situation looks right now:

• Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit in Toronto: $2,065

• Average monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit in Toronto: $2,849

• Average monthly rent for a three-bedroom unit in Toronto: $3,347

• Average monthly rent for all unit arrangements in Toronto: $2,428

Real estate expert Ben Myers, president, and owner of Bullpen, says rental costs will only worsen as the larger housing market continues to cool off.

“So many people are returning to work, and tourism’s ramping back up … several cohorts of graduates will also be moving to downtown Toronto, who may be started full-time jobs online and are now ready to move into the office. They stayed in their university towns or with Mom and Dad, and now they’re ready to move,” said Myers.

“The pandemic sent rents down 20 per cent, and so we’re just now getting back to prepandemic rental rates.”

Myers says the inflated price of single-family homes could be part of why the rental market has heated up so significantly. “After several consecutive months of monthly increases last year, average rent flattened out in the GTA, but higher interest rates could have tipped the scales, pushing would-be buyers back into the rental market, or simply preventing them from leaving it,” says Myers.

Interest in two-bedroom units also appears to have increased, presumably due at least in part to a higher need for home office spaces as the pandemic triggered a shift to working from home. Two-bedroom rent prices have increased by at least 10 per cent every month since January, according to the data. “If the ownership market continues to soften, expect rents to pick up,” says Myers.

Here are the average rental rates of all the GTA's municipalities:

$2,177 Vaughan

• 1.9 per cent rate increase over last year

$2,168 Etobicoke

• 15.0 per cent rate increase over last year.

$2,129 Richmond Hill

• 26.0 per cent rate increase over last year

$2,096 Mississauga

• 8.5 per cent rate increase over last year

$2,012 North York

• 5.0 per cent rate increase over last year.

$1,988 York

• 7.1 per cent rate increase over last year.

$1,870 East York

• 6.4 per cent rate increase over last year.

$1,869 Brampton

• 0.6 per cent rate decrease over last year

$1,805 Scarborough

• 0.5 per cent rate increase over last year.

$1,795 Markham

• 5.2 per cent rate decrease over last year.