The August Picture

Southern Ontario market: GTA snapshot with Hamilton and Waterloo context

The August 2026 Southern Ontario report covers the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Hamilton-Burlington and Waterloo Region. The GTA provides the most complete August snapshot in the report: fewer homes were available for sale than a year earlier, home sales edged lower, and new listings declined much more sharply.

According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), 5,057 home sales were reported through the TRREB MLS® System in August 2026, a 2.1% decrease from August 2025. At the same time, only 12,075 new listings entered the market, down 14.1% year-over-year.

Sales didn't fall nearly as fast as new listings did — and that gap is quietly reshaping the GTA housing market.

LDOM = listing days on market. PDOM = property days on market. Source: August 2026 Southern Ontario Real Estate Market Report.

GTA Home Sales

Sales slipped, but not as fast as supply

TRREB REALTORS® reported 5,057 sales in August 2026, compared with 5,168 transactions in August 2025 — a year-over-year decrease of 2.1%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales were also down slightly from July 2026, while new listings actually rose month-over-month.

The gap between the two trends is the important part of this report: new listings declined 14.1% year-over-year, a far steeper drop than the dip in sales, which points toward tightening rather than weakening conditions across the GTA housing market.

GTA Home Prices

The GTA average price sits below $1 million

The average GTA selling price was $993,410 in August 2026, down 2.7% from $1,021,300 in August 2025. TRREB's MLS® Home Price Index Composite benchmark was down 4.5% over the same period.

Month-over-month, conditions looked steadier: the MLS® HPI Composite was essentially flat compared with July, and the average selling price edged higher than the previous month. In other words, GTA home prices remain below last year's levels, but the month-to-month trend points to more stability than the annual comparison suggests.

GTA Housing Inventory

Fewer homes were on the market for buyers to choose from

One of the most notable developments in the August report was the decline in housing inventory. Active listings fell from 27,594 in August 2025 to 24,482 in August 2026, an 11.3% year-over-year decline, while new listings dropped even further, down 14.1%.

TRREB noted that fewer homes for sale may have limited transactions in some neighbourhoods simply because buyers had less to choose from — and flagged that continued inventory tightening, paired with rising buyer competition, could eventually put renewed upward pressure on GTA home prices.

Regional Highlights

Hamilton-Burlington and Waterloo Region add important Southern Ontario context

Beyond the GTA, the report describes the Hamilton-Burlington market as balanced and leaning buyer-favourable. The July-August trend was approximately 500-600 monthly sales, with an average price around $740,000-$760,000 and roughly 3.9-4.7 months of supply. The report places the Hamilton-Burlington benchmark price at about $737,000, down approximately 5.4% year-over-year.

For Waterloo Region, the latest detailed figures included in the report are for July 2026: 582 sales, an average price of $706,240, a median price of $675,000 and 3.9 months of supply. The report characterizes the region as balanced and slightly tightening, while noting that buyers were active but negotiating carefully.

Regional figures follow the reporting periods stated in the Southern Ontario report. GTA figures are August 2026; Waterloo Region's latest detailed figures in the report are July 2026, and Hamilton-Burlington is presented as a July-August trend range.

Property Types

Condos led sales volume; detached homes led price

Among the four major home categories tracked in August, condo apartments accounted for the largest number of transactions, followed by detached homes.

416 = City of Toronto. 905 = surrounding GTA regions. Source: August 2026 Southern Ontario Real Estate Market Report.

What It Means

A different read for buyers and for sellers

The Bigger Picture

Balance is improving, but supply challenges haven't gone away

TRREB CEO John DiMichele described a more balanced resale market as a positive development, while emphasizing that Ontario still faces real housing supply and affordability challenges. The report points to restrictive zoning policies, high taxes and development charges, and lengthy approval processes as barriers to attainable housing, and underscores the role municipalities play in how much gets built, how fast, and at what cost.

What to Watch

Inventory is moving faster than sales — that's the trend to track

August 2026 showed a GTA market where inventory tightened faster than sales declined: sales down 2.1% year-over-year, new listings down 14.1%, and active listings down 11.3%, with the average selling price still below last year at $993,410. If supply keeps shrinking while buyer competition builds, the market could see renewed upward pressure on prices. If conditions for sellers keep improving, more homeowners listing could hand buyers more choice instead.

FAQ

GTA Market FAQs Within the Southern Ontario August 2026 Report