Home sales across the Greater Toronto Area slipped in September, as wavering confidence in the economy kept many buyers on the sidelines.
GTA REALTORS® reported 5,040 home sales through the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board's MLS® System in September 2026, down nine per cent compared with September 2025, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). The board described homebuyers as being in a "holding pattern," with uncertainty surrounding the economy, inflation and borrowing costs weighing on the market.
A market running out of listings
The soft September figures cap a summer in which the supply side of the market has been tightening. In August 2026, the number of homes available for sale was down noticeably compared with a year earlier, and transactions also edged lower — a trend TRREB attributed in part to buyers having less choice in some neighbourhoods.
July told a similar story. Resale market conditions tightened compared with July 2025, with sales edging slightly lower while new listings fell substantially. TRREB noted that active buyers faced more competition from other potential purchasers, and warned that if the trend continued, average selling prices could level off.
The June release pointed in the same direction, with sales growing strongly year-over-year while new listings declined. For the first half of 2026, sales edged higher than in the same period of 2025, even as new listings dropped substantially.
Affordability front and centre ahead of municipal votes
The September numbers land with municipal elections on the horizon, and housing affordability is shaping up as a defining issue. A TRREB survey found that 85 per cent of GTA and Barrie residents are concerned about housing affordability, and 69 per cent say housing will affect how they vote in the upcoming municipal election.
In Toronto specifically, the board is pressing municipal candidates to address the upfront costs facing homebuyers. TRREB is calling for a modernization of what it describes as an outdated first-time homebuyer rebate on the Municipal Land Transfer Tax, and for a reduction in the tax's onerous upfront burden, which residents have flagged as a top concern about how the city raises revenue.
Governments have already taken steps on the affordability file, according to TRREB. Ontario and the federal government have worked together to significantly reduce development charges and lower the harmonized sales tax on new homes — measures the board says were driven by the recognition that high housing taxes make homes less affordable and discourage construction.
The board has also been urging municipalities to act on those programs. TRREB is calling on municipal and regional governments across the GTA and Simcoe County to apply for the Canada–Ontario Development Charges Reduction Program, noting that development charges can amount to up to 20 per cent of a home's purchase price.
For GTA residents weighing a purchase this fall, the September figures point to a market where hesitant buyers are meeting a shrinking pool of listings — a combination that could stiffen competition in some neighbourhoods even as overall sales slow.
