GTA Housing Market Update – August 2026
Buyers hit pause in August.
House sales fell 9% from last August. Condo sales fell 11%. That reverses the trend we had been watching all spring.
From March through June, house sales ran ahead of last year every month. They were up 2%, then 5%, then 5%, then 8%. A lot of people looked at that and called the bottom. July gave back 2%. August gave back 9%.
Four months of gains was never a recovery. It was a bounce off a very low base, and it is over.
Months of inventory went up. Houses moved from 4.1 in July to 4.7 in August. Condos moved from 5.7 to 6.5. Both markets cooled.
Listings came down too. New house listings were down 14% from last year and active listings down 16%. For condos it was 13% and 17%. Sellers are stepping back alongside buyers.
Month over month, sales fell faster than inventory did. That is why MOI rose.
Year over year the market is technically tighter. MOI for houses was 5.1 last August and sits at 4.7 now. Condos went from 7.0 to 6.5. Sellers holding back did that, not buyers coming in.
The average house price was $1,208,920, down 2% from last year. That is the smallest decline of 2026 so far and it reads like stabilization. The median tells you more. It came in at $1,012,400, down 4%, and that is the lowest monthly median we have seen since December 2020. When the average holds up better than the median, it usually means expensive homes made up a bigger share of what sold.
Condos kept sliding. The average fell 6% to $631,979. The median fell 6% to $565,000, also the lowest since December 2020. In July those declines were 3% and 6%.
Competition held steady. Twenty-one percent of houses sold over asking in August, unchanged from July. For condos it was 13%, down from 14%.
The question is whether August was a summer lull or the start of something longer. Sales were rising in the spring against a very weak year. They are falling now against that same weak year. Watch September. If buyers stay on the sidelines, the price declines that narrowed this month will widen again.
August at a Glance
Houses
Sales were down 9% over last year.
New listings were down 14%.
Active listings were down 16%.
Months of Inventory increased to 4.7.
Average price: $1,208,920, down 2%.
Median price: $1,012,400, down 4%.
Condos
Sales were down 11% over last year.
New listings were down 13%.
Active listings were down 17%.
Months of Inventory increased to 6.5.
Average price: $631,979, down 6%.
Median price: $565,000, down 6%.
Monthly Statistics
House Statistics
House sales (low-rise freehold detached, semi-detached, townhouse, etc.) in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in August 2026 were down 9% compared to the same month last year.
New house listings in August were down 14% compared to last year.
The number of houses available for sale (“active listings”) was down 16% in August compared to the same month last year.
The Months of Inventory ratio (MOI) looks at the number of homes available for sale in a given month divided by the number of homes sold in that month. It answers the following question: If no more homes came on the market for sale, how long would it take for all the existing homes on the market to sell, given the current level of demand? The higher the MOI, the cooler the market is. A balanced market (a market where prices are neither rising nor falling) is one where MOI is between four to six months. The lower the MOI, the more rapidly we would expect prices to rise.
While the current level of MOI gives us clues into how competitive the market is on-the-ground today, the direction it is moving in also gives us some clues into where the market is heading.
The MOI for houses increased to 4.7 in August.
The share of houses selling for more than the owner’s list price was 21% in August, essentially unchanged from July.
The average price for a house in August 2026, $1,208,920, was down 2% from the same month last year.
The median house price in August was $1,012,400, down 4% over last year.
The median is calculated by ordering all the sale prices in a given month and then selecting the price at the midpoint of that list such that half of all home sales are above that price and half are below that price. Economists often prefer the median price over the average because it is less sensitive to big increases in the sale of high-end or low-end homes in a given month, which can skew the average price.
Condo Statistics
Condo (condominiums, including condo apartments, condo townhouses, etc.) sales in the Toronto area in August 2026 were down 11% compared to the same month last year.
New condo listings were down 13% in August over last year.
The number of condos available for sale at the end of the month, or active listings, was down 17% over last year.
Condo months of inventory increased to 6.5 MOI in August.
The share of condos selling for over the asking price decreased to 13% in August.
The average price of a condo in August was $631,979, down 6% from last year. The median price was $565,000, down 6% from last year.
John Pasalis is President of Realosophy Realty. A specialist in real estate data analysis, John’s research focuses on unlocking micro trends in the Greater Toronto Area real estate market. His research has been utilized by the Bank of Canada, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Have questions about your own moves in the Toronto area as a buyer, seller, investor or renter? Book a no-obligation consult with John and his team at a Realosophy here: https://www.movesmartly.com/meetjohn