According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, September saw 5,040 home sales in the GTA, 500 fewer than a year earlier. New listings dropped sharply, with 2,770 fewer properties hitting the market.
GTA sales slip as listings tumble
New listings totalled 16,500 in September, down 14.4 percent from 19,270 a year ago. Sales fell 9 percent, slipping from 5,540 to 5,040. Active listings ended the month at 26,131, a 9.3 percent decline.
Dividing September’s sales by its new listings yields a ratio of 30.5 percent, up from 28.7 percent a year earlier—a rise of 1.8 percentage points. The improvement stems entirely from listings falling faster than sales.
The board’s published trend ratio, which smooths data over 12 months, stood at 37.8 percent. Same-month calculations differ because September sales include homes listed earlier, while some new listings will sell in later months. Thus, the 30.5 percent figure does not imply that 69.5 percent of that month’s listings failed to sell.
Active inventory shrank by 2,682 units compared with September 2025, while the sales pace contracted by a similar proportion. At September’s rate, the market held 5.18 months of supply, versus 5.20 months a year earlier; both round to 5.2 months.
TRREB’s separate trend measure listed four-point-six months of supply. Buyers still have alternatives, and sellers gain little if comparable homes remain available.
Agents may find the narrowing gap between sales and listings a mixed signal. While a tighter board-wide inventory can suggest less competition, the underlying pool of comparable homes often stays steady, limiting any pricing advantage.
Average days on market for sold listings rose to 34 from 33 a year ago, while the broader “property days” metric stayed at 51. The gap reflects relisted homes that spend time off the market before selling.
Both averages describe only properties that closed during the month. Homes still listed or withdrawn without a sale are excluded, so agents cannot promise a specific timeline based on these figures.
Price trends keep sliding
Among the board’s reporting areas, inventory ranged from 3.5 months in Durham to 5.8 months in Simcoe County. Halton reported 4.2 months, Toronto 4.6, Peel 4.9 and York 5.0.
In Toronto East the ratio of average selling price to listing price reached 101 percent. In Toronto West it was 99 percent. In Toronto Central it fell to 98 percent.
September’s average selling price was $1,006,409, up from August’s $993,604. However, the seasonally adjusted average and the MLS Home Price Index benchmark each edged lower month over month.
The raw average can shift as the mix of sold homes changes. Relying on September’s modest increase to justify a higher asking price would overlook the more cautious evidence of underlying price pressure.
Pricing discussions should begin with recent comparable sales and the current competitive listings available to buyers. As the pool of alternatives evolves, agents must adjust their advice accordingly, often setting an early review date to respond to weak market response.
Price pressure deepens
Year-over-year comparison reveals that the average selling price is down more than five percent, while the MLS index fell close to five percent. These declines suggest that the modest rise in the raw average does not reflect genuine strength, but rather a shift in the types of homes sold during the month.
Guidance for sellers
The release stresses that an above-asking sale can still occur, but it depends on the seller’s strategy and the specific market segment.
