Greater Toronto Area home sales down 2% in August, prices dip below $1 million: board

TORONTO — Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area were down in August compared with a year ago as prices also continued to fall.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said 5,057 homes changed hands last month, down 2.1 per cent year-over-year, while sales also fell 1.3 per cent from July on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The average selling price stood at $993,410, down 2.7 per cent year-over-year, while the composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 4.5 per cent.

It’s the second time this year that the average selling price has dipped below the $1-million level, after January marked the first instance of that happening in five years.

There were 12,075 new listings on the market in August, down 14.1 per cent from last year.

Inventory fell 11.3 per cent as there were 24,482 total active listings in the GTA.

“If inventory tightens and home prices begin to rise, some buyers may face a trade-off between waiting for greater economic certainty and purchasing before prices move higher,” said TRREB president Daniel Steinfeld in a news release.

“At the same time, improving market conditions for sellers could bring more listings to market, providing buyers with additional choice.”

Within the City of Toronto, TRREB said there were 1,767 sales last month, down 0.2 per cent from August 2025. Across the rest of the GTA, home sales decreased 3.1 per cent to 3,290.

Townhouses saw the biggest drop in activity among all housing types, with 9.5 per cent fewer sales year-over-year. There were also 2.6 per cent fewer condos sold last month compared with a year ago.

Both the semi-detached and detached home markets experienced slight growth year-over-year, with 0.9 per cent and 0.5 per cent more sales, respectively.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2026.

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press