Looking to rent one-bedroom apartment in Toronto? New report suggests you'll pay more than $2,500 a month

Condo buildings in Toronto, Ont., on Nov. 21, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg)

The average cost of rent a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto has eclipsed $2,500 and is now up more than 20 per cent year-over-year, a new report has found.

The latest data from Rentals.ca, which was analyzed by research firm Urbanation, shows that apartment rental costs actually declined nationwide in February for a third consecutive month.

But in Toronto and most of its surrounding suburbs prices continued their ascent.

The data shows that the average list price for a one-bedroom apartment in the city edged up another 1.8 per cent from January, hitting $2,501. The average list price for a two-bedroom apartment rose nearly per cent month-over-month and now stands at $3,314.

“Toronto experienced the second fastest annual rent growth of 22.8% despite recording a 0.9 per cent three-month decline, reaching an average of $2,838,” the report states. “One-bedroom rents in Toronto were well above the national average, with one-bedrooms averaging $2,513, two-bedrooms averaging $3,324, and three-bedrooms averaging $3,843.”

Rent prices in Toronto declined by 11 per cent annually in May 2021 and six per cent annually in May 2020 as a wave of people left the city in search of more space during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But since then rents have been on the rise, as office employees return downtown and a series of interest rate hikes sideline many would-be buyers.

The Rentals.ca data shows that Toronto had the second most expensive average list price for one-bedroom apartments in February, trailing only Vancouver.

But a number of other GTA communities, including Oakville ($2,268), Burlington ($2,220), Vaughan ($2,190) and Mississauga ($2,181) weren’t far behind.

Brampton, meanwhile, saw the largest year-over-year increase in rent prices (30.1 per cent) of any of the communities included in the report.

“The rental market experienced a pull back over the past three months following record-breaking rent growth in 2022. The recent slowing can be related to high rental costs impacting affordability and an increase in new supply from apartment completions. However, several key markets experiencing high demand continued to see rents trend higher last month,” Urbanation President Shaun Hildebrand said in a press release.