09/08/2026
August numbers are in for the GTA and the market is getting more interesting.
The number of homes available for sale continues to shrink. New listings were down more than 14% compared to last August, while active listings fell over 11%.
But there’s an important wrinkle: sales were also down 2.1%.
So this isn’t simply a story of demand surging. It’s a story of less choice. TRREB says the reduced inventory is limiting the number of transactions in some neighbourhoods, while buyers are facing more competition for the homes that do come to market.
Prices are still below last year’s levels. The average GTA home sold for $993,410, down 2.7% year over year. The pace of the average price decline has moderated compared to July (which was down 4.5% year-over-year) but that improvement isn’t showing up evenly across property types.
Detached homes remained relatively resilient, with sales essentially flat and average prices down just 1.8%. Condo apartments told a different story: their average price decline actually widened, from 2.3% year-over-year in July to 3.6% in August, even as condo sales stayed roughly flat.
Last week, the Bank of Canada also announced their policy interest rate remains unchanged as they once again hold it at 2.25%.
TRREB’s message to buyers is particularly interesting: if inventory keeps tightening and prices begin to firm up, buyers may face a trade-off between waiting for greater economic certainty and purchasing before prices move higher.
We’re not back in a runaway seller’s market. Buyers still need to be selective and homes are taking slightly longer to sell than they did a year ago, as average days on market rose to 35 from 33.
But the market has changed. There is less inventory. In some neighbourhoods, that means less choice. And potentially less negotiating room ahead.
If you’re thinking about buying, selling, upsizing or downsizing, the GTA headline is only the starting point. Send me a message and let’s talk about what the numbers actually mean for your situation.