Toronto Real Estate in August 2026: Sales Edge Lower as New Listings Drop 14%

TRREB's August 2026 Market Watch landed with a clear story: supply is tightening. New listings entering the GTA's MLS System dropped 14.1% compared to last August, from 14,052 down to 12,075. Active listings also fell 11.3%, leaving 24,482 properties on the market.

Sales dipped too, but only by 2.1%. The 5,057 transactions recorded in August 2026 came in just 111 short of August 2025's 5,168. With listings falling much faster than sales, the supply-demand balance is shifting. TRREB President Daniel Steinfeld flagged the tension directly: if inventory keeps tightening, buyers may face a choice between waiting for economic certainty and buying before prices start climbing again.

GTA Price Picture

The GTA average selling price in August 2026 was $993,410, down 2.7% from $1,021,300 a year earlier. That's a decline of roughly $28,000. The MLS Home Price Index Composite benchmark showed a steeper 4.5% year-over-year drop, though it was nearly flat compared to July 2026 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Month-over-month, the average price actually edged up from July. So while the year-over-year comparisons still show red, the trajectory has levelled off. TRREB's Chief Information Officer Jason Mercer pointed to positive job-creation data and relatively stable mortgage rates as supporting factors, but noted that trade uncertainty with the United States remains the main drag on buyer confidence.

City of Toronto: $979,684 Average, Condos Dominate

Zooming into the 416 area, the City of Toronto recorded 1,767 sales in August at an average of $979,684 and a median of $770,000. That gap between average and median tells you something: high-end detached sales in central Toronto pull the average well above where most buyers actually transact.

Condo apartments were the most-traded property type in the city by a wide margin. The 416 saw 885 condo sales at an average of $651,648. That's half of all City of Toronto closings. Detached homes followed with 550 sales at $1,525,749 on average, then semi-detached (159 sales, $1,110,639) and townhouses (165 sales, $797,856).

Detached sales in the 416 actually rose 3.6% year-over-year, and semis were up 1.3%. Townhouses moved in the other direction, with sales falling 11.3%. Condo sales were nearly flat at -0.2%.

West, Central, East: How the City Breaks Down

Toronto Central led in volume with 882 sales and the highest average at $1,051,186, though its median of $690,000 reflects the heavy condo mix in that part of the city. The sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) sat at 36.2%, the lowest of the three zones.

Toronto West posted 460 sales at $955,789 on average (median $820,000) with a tighter 39.6% SNLR. Toronto East was the most competitive zone: 425 sales, $857,162 average, $825,000 median, and a 41.6% SNLR. The east end continues to attract buyers looking for relative value compared to central and west.

Year-to-Date: 15,548 City of Toronto Sales

Through the first eight months of 2026, the City of Toronto has recorded 15,548 sales at an average of $1,042,120 and a median of $820,000. New listings year-to-date total 41,246.

Across the full GTA, year-to-date sales reached 42,120 at an average of $1,027,505. Detached homes account for 46.5% of all GTA sales, while condos represent 26.2%. The $1M to $1.25M bracket has been the single busiest price range for the year with 6,495 sales, followed by $800K to $900K with 4,976.

Frequently Asked Questions