Toronto Real Estate Market Update: October 2026.

If you’ve been house hunting this fall, you’ve probably noticed that nobody’s in a hurry. The buyers we worked with in October were hesitant to jump into offer nights, preferring to wait and see whether anyone else came to the table. We felt it on the listing side too. Buyers are still showing up, they just want to do it on their own terms.

The good news? Prices held their ground. The average home in the City of Toronto sold for $1,090,449, up 1.3% from last October, even though sales fell 13.6%. Let’s take a look at what happened in October and what it could mean for the months ahead.

October 2026 at a Glance

Here’s how the City of Toronto shaped up last month:

	October 2026	Compared to October 2025
Sales	1,967 homes	Down 13.6%
New listings	5,497	Down 8.1%
Homes for sale during the month	10,026	Down 8.8%
Average price	$1,090,449	Up 1.3%
Median price	$850,000	Up 0.1%
Market thermometer	35.8% (buyer’s market)	Down from 38.1%

The short version? Fewer homes sold, prices held steady, and buyers kept the upper hand.

Buyers Took Their Time

October is usually one of the busier months of the fall, but buyers didn’t rush this year. Sales came in at 1,967 homes, down 13.6% from the 2,277 we saw last October. Sellers pulled back too, with new listings down 8.1% to 5,497, but not by as much, and that gap is what kept buyers in control. It lines up with what we saw on offer nights: only 21% of homes sold over asking, the same as last October and down from 24% in September.

Interestingly, October was a small step up from September. Sales were about the same (1,963 homes in September), but with fewer new listings coming on, the market firmed up a little heading into the end of the month.

Here’s where it gets interesting for anyone watching prices. Even with fewer sales, prices barely moved. The average home sold for $1,090,449, up 1.3% from last October and 4.2% from September, while the median (the typical home) held at $850,000, up 0.1%. Part of the gap comes down to the mix: condo apartments made up a smaller share of sales than a year ago, which nudges the average up without the typical home getting any more expensive.

So, will steady prices draw more buyers off the sidelines? With the Bank of Canada raising rates at the end of the month, it’s definitely a trend to watch.

Who Has the Upper Hand?

Our market thermometer compares homes sold to new listings. Under 40% is a buyer’s market, 40% to 60% is balanced, and anything over 60% favours sellers. In October, the city came in at 35.8%, down from 38.1% last October. In other words, buyers didn’t just keep the upper hand, they gained a little more of it.

Condo apartments moved the furthest, sliding to 30.6% from 35.4%, the deepest buyer’s market of any home type. Condo townhouses weren’t far behind at 31.5%. On the other end, freehold townhouses climbed to 45.0% from 39.8%, moving into balanced territory as fewer of them came to market, and semis stayed balanced at 49.0%. Detached homes sat right on the line at 40.1%.

Breaking Down October by Property Type

Detached

The average detached home sold for $1,619,221, virtually unchanged from $1,619,515 last October. Sales dipped 8.7% to 675 homes, but new listings fell even further (down 10.5%), which kept detached homes sitting right on the edge of balanced territory. The typical one sold in 17 days. Steady is the word here.

Semi-Detached

Semis averaged $1,204,241, down 2.0% from last October, though the median rose 3.2% to $1,115,000. They were the only home type to sell more than a year ago, with 257 sales, up 2.0%, and the typical semi sold in just 13 days. At 49.0% on our thermometer, semis remain the most balanced corner of the market.

Freehold Townhouse

Freehold townhouses averaged $1,250,258, up 12.2% from last October. That jump looks bigger than it really is: with only 77 sales, a handful of larger homes can swing the average, and the median rose a more modest 3.8% to $1,090,000. The more telling number is supply. New listings fell 19.0%, which nudged freehold towns into balanced territory.

Condo Townhouse

Condo townhouses averaged $746,367, down 2.8% from last October. Sales fell 18.7% to 122 homes, and the typical one took 29 days to sell, up from 23 a year ago. Like condo apartments, they’re firmly in buyer’s territory, which can mean more room to negotiate.

Condo Apartment

This is where October felt toughest. Condo apartment sales fell 20.5% to 836 homes, the biggest drop of any home type, while new listings fell only 8.2%. That left sales at just 30.6% of new listings, the deepest buyer’s market in the city. The typical condo still sold in 27 days, the same as last October, so well-priced units are moving. There are just fewer buyers to go around.

Prices reflected it. The average condo apartment sold for $664,021, down 4.9%, and the median (the typical condo) fell 7.5% to $545,000, about $44,000 less than last October. Downtown, we did see showings pick up on our listings in October, which is encouraging, but condos are still having a tough go. For buyers, that’s a real opening. For sellers, it means pricing for today’s market, not last year’s.

A Closer Look at Waterfront Communities

If you want to see October’s condo story up close, Waterfront Communities is a good place to look. It’s the busiest condo neighbourhood downtown, and in October 103 condo apartments sold there, down 22.0% from 132 last October. New listings fell less, to 306 from 344 (down 11.0%), so sales came in at about 34% of new listings, compared with 38% a year ago. That’s buyer’s market territory, just like the rest of the city’s condos.

Prices eased, but not as sharply as the city-wide condo numbers. The typical condo here sold for $630,000, down 3.8% from $655,000 last October. It’s also up from $588,000 in August, which suggests the late-summer dip didn’t stick. Keep in mind this is a single neighbourhood, so its numbers can swing more from month to month than the city’s.

Here’s the encouraging part, and it matches what we’ve seen on our own downtown listings. Condos in Waterfront Communities sold faster, in a typical 24 days, down from 29 last October and 34 in August. Showings picked up through the fall, and buyers who found the right unit didn’t wait around. There just weren’t as many of them as last year.

Neighbourhood Watch: August to October by District

Let’s zoom out a little. Across the city, 5,694 homes sold between August and October, down 7.2% from 6,133 in the same three months last year. We only compare districts with roughly 100 or more sales in each period, since smaller areas can swing on just a few deals.

A few pockets bucked the trend. North Etobicoke led the city, with sales up 18.6% across West Humber-Clairville, Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, Rexdale-Kipling and Thistletown. North York’s Bayview Village, Don Valley Village, Hillcrest Village and Henry Farm were close behind, up 17.4%. In the west end, High Park-Swansea, Roncesvalles and South Parkdale sold 13.9% more homes than last fall.

On the flip side, parts of Scarborough and North York cooled off. L’Amoreaux, Steeles and Tam O’Shanter-Sullivan saw the biggest drop in the city, with sales down 30.2%. Downsview, York University Heights and Glenfield-Jane Heights sold 20.7% fewer homes, and West Hill, Highland Creek and Centennial Scarborough were down 19.7%.

The Bigger Picture: Rates, Inflation and Jobs

Here’s what was happening beyond the housing market in October.

The First Rate Hike in Three Years

On October 28, the Bank of Canada raised its key rate to 2.5%, up a quarter point and its first increase since July 2023. The Bank’s concern is that high energy prices start pushing up the cost of everything else, and it said it may need to raise rates again but will “proceed carefully.” It also expects housing to remain relatively weak. For anyone on a variable-rate mortgage or shopping with a pre-approval, it’s a reminder to check your numbers. The next decision comes on December 9.

Gas Prices Push Inflation to 3.1%

Inflation rose to 3.1% in September, up from 3.0% in August, with gasoline prices up 27.8% from a year ago. Take gas out, though, and prices rose just 2.2%, while shelter costs were up only 1.8%. The Bank of Canada expects inflation to reach about 3.5% by the end of the year, which is why it acted now.

A Second Soft Month for Jobs

Canada lost 68,000 jobs in September, the second monthly decline in a row, and the unemployment rate rose to 6.5%. Ontario’s rate was 7.0%, little changed on the month but down 0.9 percentage points from a year ago. A softer job market can make some buyers more cautious, which fits the wait-and-see mood we saw in October.

What This Means for Buyers and Sellers

For buyers: You have time on your side, especially if you’re shopping for a condo. Sales are down, prices are softer than last year, and most homes aren’t drawing bidding wars, so there’s room to negotiate. That said, don’t let an offer date rush you into a decision you’re not ready to make. Book the showings, get your financing lined up with the new rate in mind, and make your move when the right home comes along. Here’s how we work with buyers.

For sellers: Right now, a bid date can work against you. In October, we set an offer date on one of our house listings and nobody came to the table. Once we relisted it without one, showings picked up, and the listing went on to receive three offers in total. Price for today’s market, especially if you’re selling a condo, and give your showings room to build. Here’s how we work with sellers.

What’s Next?

November usually brings a quieter market as the holidays get closer, with fewer new listings and fewer sales. There are a few dates worth watching: October’s jobs numbers come out on November 6, October’s inflation numbers follow on November 16, and the Bank of Canada makes its next rate decision on December 9. We’ll also be keeping a close eye on whether condo apartments find their footing.

Will a second rate hike keep more buyers on the sidelines? Or will condo sellers start pricing to meet the market and bring them back? We’ll be watching closely. In the meantime, you can find every past update on our market update page.

By the Numbers

City of Toronto, October 2026, with the change compared to October 2025.

Sales and Listings

Home type	Homes sold	Change	New listings	Change	For sale during the month
Detached	675	−8.7%	1,685	−10.5%	2,871
Semi-detached	257	+2.0%	524	+6.7%	591
Freehold townhouse	77	−8.3%	171	−19.0%	264
Condo townhouse	122	−18.7%	387	−8.9%	732
Condo apartment	836	−20.5%	2,730	−8.2%	5,567
All five types	1,967	−13.6%	5,497	−8.1%	10,026

Prices and Pace

Home type	Average price	Change	Median price	Days to sell (median)	Thermometer
Detached	$1,619,221	0.0%	$1,262,500	17	40.1%
Semi-detached	$1,204,241	−2.0%	$1,115,000	13	49.0%
Freehold townhouse	$1,250,258	+12.2%	$1,090,000	17	45.0%
Condo townhouse	$746,367	−2.8%	$693,500	29	31.5%
Condo apartment	$664,021	−4.9%	$545,000	27	30.6%
All five types	$1,090,449	+1.3%	$850,000	21	35.8%

How We Calculate These Numbers

All figures come from MLS® data via Repliers for the City of Toronto (TRREB area “Toronto”), covering detached, semi-detached, freehold townhouse, condo townhouse and condo apartment sales. They’re preliminary, based on data pulled November 2, 2026, and can change as late sales are reported.

Homes sold counts sales with an October sold date. New listings counts homes listed for sale in October. Homes for sale during the month counts every home available at any point in October, not just those left at month’s end.

Days to sell is the number of days the final listing was on the market before it sold. The market thermometer is homes sold divided by new listings: under 40% favours buyers, 40% to 60% is balanced, and over 60% favours sellers.

Neighbourhood Watch compares August to October with the same three months last year, grouped by TRREB district.

Thinking About Your Next Move?

Whether you’re wondering what your home would sell for without a bid date, or you’re a buyer ready to take advantage of a slower fall, we’re happy to help you make sense of the numbers. Get your free home value estimate.