The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board recorded 5,040 GTA home sales in September, 500 fewer than a year earlier. New listings fell much more sharply: 2,770 fewer properties came onto the market.

That difference improved the sales-to-new-listings ratio even as sales declined. Prices kept falling, too. The average selling price was down 5.1 per cent year over year, and the MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark fell 4.7 per cent.

An agent pointing to the improved ratio in a listing appointment needs to explain what changed. September brought fewer sales as well as fewer new listings.

New listings fell faster than sales

 

TRREB recorded 16,500 new listings in September, down 14.4 per cent from 19,270 a year earlier. Sales fell 9 per cent, from 5,540 to 5,040. Active listings ended the month at 26,131, down 9.3 per cent.

 

Divide September’s sales by its new listings and the ratio rises from 28.7 per cent last year to 30.5 per cent this year. The improvement is about 1.8 percentage points. It comes entirely from new listings falling faster than sales.

Those are same-month calculations. TRREB’s published trend ratio, which uses a 12-month moving average, was 37.8 per cent.

Neither ratio tracks what happened to one group of listings. September’s sales include homes listed before September, while some of its new listings will sell in later months. A ratio of 30.5 per cent does not mean that 69.5 per cent of the homes listed that month failed to sell.

The release also reports that seasonally adjusted sales and new listings fell from August. There is little basis here for telling clients that buyers returned with the fall market.

 

Inventory fell at almost the same pace as sales

 

There were 2,682 fewer active listings at month-end than in September 2025. But the sales pace shrank by almost the same proportion.

At September’s pace, the active inventory represented 5.18 months of sales, compared with 5.20 months a year earlier. Rounded to one decimal place, both are 5.2.

 

This calculation divides month-end active listings by sales during the month. It is a snapshot, not a forecast of how long today’s listings will take to sell. TRREB’s separate trend measure was 4.6 months.

The buyer considering a listing still has other homes to choose from. A seller gains little from a smaller board-wide inventory if the competing homes in their price range remain available.

Relisting adds to the reported selling period

 

Average listing days on market rose to 34 from 33 a year earlier. Average property days on market stayed at 51.

 

Listing days measure the sold listing’s time on the market. Property days also account for relisting by the same seller and brokerage during the original listing contract period. The September averages were 17 days apart.

A fresh listing can have a short visible history while the property has already spent weeks looking for a buyer. The 34-day figure alone understates the reported time involved in completing a sale.

Both averages describe properties that sold. They leave out homes that were still listed at month-end and those taken off the market without a sale. An agent cannot turn either number into a promised selling timeline.

 

Durham has less inventory relative to sales than York

 

Among TRREB’s large regional reporting areas, the published inventory trend ranged from 3.5 months in Durham to 5.8 in Simcoe County. Halton stood at 4.2, Toronto at 4.6, Peel at 4.9 and York at 5.0.

 

The Simcoe figure covers TRREB’s reporting area, not every transaction in the county. Agents need to narrow a regional comparison to the property type and price range their client is entering.

Toronto’s own breakdown shows why. TRREB’s ratio of average selling price to average listing price was 101 per cent in Toronto East, 99 per cent in Toronto West and 98 per cent in Toronto Central.

 

An above-asking sale remains possible in a declining market. Asking prices are part of a seller’s strategy, however, so these ratios do not measure appreciation or tell a buyer what discount to expect on a particular home. A property deliberately listed low can sell above asking and still trade below last year’s comparable sale.

Price the listing against the buyer’s alternatives

 

September’s average price was $1,006,409, up from August’s revised, unadjusted average of $993,604. TRREB nevertheless reports that both the seasonally adjusted average price and its benchmark edged lower month over month.

The raw average can move as the mix of sold homes changes. Using its September increase to justify a higher asking price would ignore the release’s more cautious evidence on underlying prices.

A pricing discussion starts with recent comparable sales and the competing listings a buyer can purchase today. The property’s full listing history belongs in that conversation, too. If the competition changes during the listing, the pricing advice should change with it.

Sellers also need a review date early enough to act on weak response. Waiting for the board-wide average selling period to pass can mean weeks spent behind competing listings that have already adjusted.

September’s smaller inventory gives agents a reason to refresh their comparable set. The evidence for a higher price still has to come from the homes buyers are choosing and what they are paying for them.

Sources: TRREB Market Watch September 2026 · Charts: homiesai.com/stats. Calculations use comparison figures from the September release. MLS® is a registered trademark of the Canadian Real Estate Association. This analysis is independent of TRREB and CREA.