Whether you're a purchaser or a renter, it's becoming next to impossible to afford a place to live in Toronto. And amid the worst inflation spike the country has witnessed in decades, your gas and grocery bills aren't the only expenses trending upward right now.

Greater Toronto Area (GTA) rents skyrocketed by 16.5 per cent year-over-year last month, leaping from $1,998 in May 2021 to $2,327 in just one year, according to the latest national rent report from Bullpen Research & Consulting and TorontoRentals.com.

It's a substantial increase in rent prices, made so much worse when you plug the last year of inflation into your math.

According to the Bank of Canada's inflation calculator, the current average rent of $2,327 is worth roughly $2,507 in 2021 dollars.

Once you've factored in inflation, that 16.5 per cent increase hits wallets more like an approximately 24.5 per cent jump.

On a month-over-month scale, rents increased by 5.7 per cent in May, representing the largest monthly spike in over three years, though still a few bucks below the May 2019 rental average of $2,365.

The highest increases in average monthly rent occurred in, you guessed it, the City of Toronto proper, where the typical rent surged by 19.8 per cent year over year in May to reach $2,438.

The Bay Street corridor was a scorching hot spot for rental prices, posting the highest averages in the GTA. Renting a typical home in the heart of the city will now cost you $2,764 per month, a 12 per cent increase over last year and a single percentage point above the highs seen in 2019.

Not too far behind was the Mississauga City Centre area, where condo and apartment rental prices saw an almost unbelievable 28 per cent jump year-over-year to $2,728 per month. Watch out Manhattan.

Experts point to rampant inflation as just one of many factors in rising prices, along with inflating interest rates, supply chain issues, and most importantly, an imbalance between the supply of housing and the fierce demand for units.

The report states that this supply drought is worsened by economic uncertainty, as "fewer people tend to move during uncertain economic times, and more would-be first-time home buyers are deciding to stay on the sidelines and in rental housing, drying up supply."