Try finding rental accommodations anywhere in Toronto that doesn't eat up a huge share of your monthly income. No, really, we dare you. Try it. Those who have already tangled with the rental market know that affordability is on the decline as rental price growth in the big city just keeps on keepin' on.

Appreciation in condo rental prices was fuelled by a continued tightening of the Greater Toronto Area market in the fourth quarter of 2021, and average rents are now racing back to pre-pandemic heights according to a report released by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) on Thursday morning.

A substantial decline in the number of units listed for rent in Q4 — plummeting by a staggering 48.9 per cent year-over-year to under 17,000 — combined with an almost 14 per cent drop in the already-low number of condo rental transactions versus the previous year is further exacerbating the supply and demand issues experienced in the city.

"The lack of housing inventory is not just an issue for the ownership market in the Greater Toronto Area. After a relatively brief pandemic-induced blip in rental supply, available rental listings have declined," said TRREB President Kevin Crigger.

These conditions fostered double-digit spikes in the average price of both one-bedroom and two-bedroom condominium apartment rentals, rising by 13.7 per cent and 12.6 per cent, respectively.

As of the recently-concluded Q4 2021, it costs renters a monthly average of $2,099 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,763 for a two-bedroom unit.

"This has made it more difficult for would-be renters to find a place to live – essentially you can't rent what isn't available. By extension, the lack of inventory has also resulted in increased competition between renters, pushing average rents higher," adds Crigger.

And if those rent prices seem like they're already stratospheric, TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer expects the situation to get even worse, stating that "Demand will increase as both immigration and temporary migration into the GTA picks up over the next year. Both sources of population growth result in more demand for rental accommodation."

Mercer predicts that "in the absence of a marked increase in the supply of rental units, expect average rents to trend further upward in 2022."