GTA home sales in September were quieter than a year ago, and the new listings fell even faster. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) published the figures on October 6. Buyers were described as being in a holding pattern.

A thinner list of homes is not the same thing as buyers rushing back. September still had more than 26,000 active listings, and the average home sold a little under the asking price.

If you are pricing a listing or writing an offer this month, use the September tape, not the summer one.

What September actually printed

TRREB reported 5,040 sales through its MLS system, down 9.0 per cent from 5,540 in September 2025. New listings were 16,500, down 14.4 per cent from 19,270. Active listings ended the month at 26,131, down 9.3 per cent from 28,813. The average selling price was $1,006,409, down 5.1 per cent from $1,060,036. The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark was down 4.7 per cent year over year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, TRREB said sales and new listings were down from August, and both the benchmark and the average price edged lower month to month.

The unadjusted average can move the other way from the seasonally adjusted one, because September is not the same mix of homes as August. August’s average was $993,410. September’s raw average was higher, at $1,006,409, even while TRREB said the seasonally adjusted average edged down. I would not tell a seller that prices rose in September off that raw comparison. The board’s own month-to-month read, once the calendar is adjusted, was slightly softer.

Homes were not selling faster. Average listing days on market were 34, up from 33 a year earlier. Average property days on market, which keeps counting if a home is relisted, were 51, the same as last September. The median price across all TRREB areas was $860,000. The average sale-to-list ratio was 98 per cent. Put simply: 5,040 sales against 16,500 new listings, one day longer on the listing clock than last September, and a typical sale at 98 per cent of the list price.

The City of Toronto was 1,937 of those sales, at an average of $1,034,320 and a median of $810,000. Sale-to-list there was 99 per cent, listing days were 33, and property days were 45. Active listings in the city were 9,865. TRREB’s months-of-inventory trend was 4.6 both for the city and for all TRREB areas. That is not a shortage. The full table is in the September Market Watch.

How these GTA home sales compare with August

These GTA home sales are the next chapter after August, not a repeat of it. August had 5,057 sales and 12,075 new listings. September had slightly fewer sales in the raw count, and many more new listings in the raw count, because early fall is when more owners list. Year over year, both sales and new listings were down, and listings fell harder. That is why a sales-to-new-listings comparison looks a bit tighter than last September without buyers actually returning.

Active listings rose from 24,482 in August to 26,131 in September, and were still down from September 2025. Listing days eased from 35 in August to 34 in September. Property days stayed at 51. I walked through the August gap between the average and the benchmark in average price versus benchmark. September’s year-over-year gap is smaller: the average was down 5.1 per cent and the benchmark was down 4.7 per cent. They were telling a similar story in September. They were not in August.

President Daniel Steinfeld’s line in the release is that buyers held back because of the economy, inflation, and borrowing costs. Chief information officer Jason Mercer said there is pent-up demand, and that those buyers want to be confident about their jobs and about inflation before they move. I would not turn either quote into “the rebound is here.” The count is 5,040 sales.

What these GTA home sales mean for an offer

Read these GTA home sales as a buyer’s market that got slightly less supplied than last fall, not as a market that turned.

• Sellers: price against the homes a buyer can book this week. A 14 per cent drop in new listings does not put last spring’s price back on the feature sheet.
• A 98 per cent sale-to-list ratio means the average home sold under the ask. Build a negotiation into the number, then see if your street is the exception.
• If the listing was cancelled and relisted, look at property days, not the fresh listing clock. Fifty-one days is the figure that includes that history.
• Buyers: 26,131 active listings is still a lot of choice. Do not waive a home inspection because a headline said supply is tighter.
• The July report is the prior comparison, in July GTA home sales. September is the one I would use on a listing appointment now.
• Where a home does draw more than one offer, that is still selective. I covered that split in resale bidding wars.

Final Thoughts

September was a holding pattern with less new supply than last year, not a return to 2021. The average was $1,006,409, down 5.1 per cent. The benchmark was down 4.7 per cent. Most homes still sold under the list price.

If you are about to list, or you are comparing two homes from this month’s sales, contact me with the street or the building. I will tell you which of these figures I would actually use.