It's getting much more expensive to call Canada's largest city home as rent prices in Toronto continue their stratospheric ascent in 2022.

According to the latest Rentals.ca National Rent Report, Toronto was one of five Canadian cities where rent prices leapt by over 20 per cent year-over-year in August, along with regional sibling Hamilton.

Toronto average rents jumped 24.2 per cent to $2,694, sitting second on the list of 35 cities for rent price growth in August.

A one-bedroom rental in the city will now cost you an average of $2,329 per month, a 17.1 per cent year-over-year increase from August 2021. The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom has risen 24.3 per cent in the same period, now sitting at a staggering $3,266.

And that's just the average spread across apartment and condominium rental units. When looking specifically at condo rentals, the surge in prices is even more dramatic, with the overall average monthly rent climbing to $2,945 in August.

That is a full $892 a month more expensive than the average condo rental rate of $2,053 seen just one year earlier in August 2021.

The latest National Report Report by @Rentalsdotca & @BullpenConsult is out. Average rents nationally have surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time. Rents continue to surge in Ontario and BC. #ToRE #VanRE pic.twitter.com/RmXYIcFh9u

— Big Ben Myers 🐂✒️ (@benmyers29) September 15, 2022

It was a similar story across the GTA, with average rents rising 16.2 per cent to $2,348 in Mississauga and 13.4 per cent to $2,107 in Brampton.

Province-wide, the average price of a rental unit jumped by 16 per cent year-over-year to $2,367.

Rent prices in the province have steadily increased since taking a dive in 2020, with one-bedroom unit rents increasing by 8 per cent in the last year and two-bedroom units rising by 13 per cent.

Even with this sustained price growth, the current monthly rate for a one-bedroom rental apartment, at $1,956, is still cheaper on average compared to the rate of $2,052 per month seen in the before times.

Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research & Consulting, says that "With several economists calling for an extended ownership housing market correction, demand has shifted dramatically to the rental market, which is significantly under-supplied in many major Canadian municipalities."

Myers points out that "data suggests rental demand is up by nearly 40 per cent from last August nationwide, and 70 per cent from the locked-down August 2020 marketplace."