Greater Toronto Area home sales fell 9% year over year in September 2026, while new listings and prices also declined. The figures point to a slower market, but not one with a growing flood of new supply: listings were down too. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) attributes buyer caution to uncertainty about the economy, employment, inflation and borrowing costs; the monthly data do not establish that any one factor caused the decline.
What happened to Toronto-area home sales in September?
TRREB reported 5,040 sales through the MLS system across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in September 2026, 9% fewer than in September 2025. It was the third consecutive month with an annual sales decline, according to the board’s figures reported by Canadian Mortgage Professional on October 6, 2026.
Listings declined alongside sales. There were 16,500 new listings, down 14.4% year over year, and 26,131 active listings, down 9.3%. Average time on market was 34 days, compared with 33 days a year earlier. These measures describe different parts of the market: new listings are properties newly offered during the period, while active listings are the inventory available at a point in time.
What happened to prices?
Two price measures in the September report both moved lower, but they are not interchangeable:
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- Average selling price: $1,006,409, down 5.1% year over year. This is the average of prices paid for homes sold in the period, so the mix of homes sold can affect it.
- MLS Home Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark: $917,600, down 4.7% year over year. TRREB describes the HPI as a measure of home-price levels and trends; it is distinct from the average price.
Both figures are TRREB’s September 2026 measures, reproduced in the Canadian Mortgage Professional report. Use the same measure, period and geography when comparing prices rather than treating the average and benchmark as competing estimates of one identical thing.
Which home types and areas saw the largest changes?
The pullback varied by property type and location. In the September breakdown reported by Canadian Mortgage Professional, GTA townhouse sales fell 12.8% year over year. Detached sales fell 10.3% in the 905 area surrounding Toronto, compared with a 4.0% decline in the City of Toronto (416). The GTA average therefore does not describe every segment.
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Condo apartments also had a sharper price decline than the overall GTA average-price measure: their average price was $605,257, down 7.7% year over year in September. This is a condo-apartment average, not the HPI benchmark.
These broad categories can help frame a comparison, but they cannot tell a buyer what is happening on a particular street or in a specific building. Compare like with like—property type, geography, reporting period and price measure—and use local data before drawing a neighbourhood-level conclusion.
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What does inventory suggest—and what period does it cover?
For a separate, quarterly view, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), in cooperation with TRREB, reported months of inventory at the end of Q2 2026. CREA defines this as the time it would take to sell current inventory at the current sales rate.
| Property type | Months of inventory at end of Q2 2026 |
|---|---|
| Detached | 3.9 |
| Semi-detached | 2.4 |
| Condo townhouse | 5 |
| Condo apartment | 5 |
These are Q2 figures, not September readings, and should not be combined with September’s sales and listing counts as if they described the same moment. The CREA Toronto Market Conditions page also reports year-over-year increases in time on market for the listed categories.
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Why are buyers holding back?
TRREB’s explanation is that some prospective buyers are waiting for greater confidence about the economy, jobs, inflation and borrowing costs. In the October 6 report, TRREB Chief Information Officer Jason Mercer said households had substantial pent-up demand, but that would-be buyers wanted confidence their employment would remain solid and inflation would not put pressure on borrowing costs over the longer term.
That is the board’s interpretation of buyer hesitation, not a measured share of buyers who are waiting or proof that uncertainty caused the sales decline. The sales and listing figures show what changed in the market; they do not isolate why each household did or did not buy. TRREB President Daniel Steinfeld also said decisions by incoming mayors and councillors on affordability, housing supply and the costs associated with buying a home could influence demand and confidence.
Should you wait to buy a home in Toronto?
The September GTA figures alone cannot answer that for an individual buyer. Lower year-over-year prices and slower sales may create more room to assess options, but declining listings mean buyers are not necessarily facing a larger pool of homes across the board. Conditions also differ across home types and between the 416 and 905.
For a practical decision, compare recent sales and available homes in the specific area and property category you can afford, and assess the monthly payment at borrowing costs you can realistically secure. A market-wide average cannot predict whether a particular home will suit your budget or whether prices will move further. The September report describes a market with less activity and lower prices year over year; it does not establish a reliable turning point or a universal advantage to waiting.
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