The high-level raw data flowing from the statistics provided by the Toronto and Region Real Estate Board paints a picture of a residential resale market that is taking a seasonal breather, as it did before the frenzy and then the painful declines flowing from the Covid and post-pandemic housing market.
Reported sales declined in July compared to a year ago by almost 1 percent, from 6,047 to 5,995, a typical seasonal occurrence.
It’s quite common for sales to decline between June and July (with the exception of the Covid market) as consumers focus on summer activities: end of the school year, summer holidays and vacations, and ensuring sales transactions align with the beginning of the next school year in September. Not only sales data, but data related to available inventory, average sale prices, and the length of time it takes properties to sell are all products of the housing market’s seasonality.
During the month of July, only 14,484 new listings came to market, a steep decline from the 17,623 that came to market last year. This almost 18 percent decline is not surprising. Not only does seasonality factor in, but it is a continuation of a decline in properties coming to market that began at the beginning of 2026. Sellers, disappointed with slow market activity and low buyer demand, have either been withholding their properties from the market or removing them in anticipation of more favourable selling conditions. It will not be surprising, in fact, it should be anticipated, that this pattern will reverse with the fall market. Although month-end inventory levels, 26,098, are lower than at the same period last year, they remain high by historical patterns. The reason? Lack of absorption.
The average sale price came in at $1,003,956, 4.5 percent lower than the average sale price for July 2025. Again, a seasonal decline. Last year, between June and July, the average sale price declined by 4.5 percent. This year the decline was similar, coming in at 5 percent. If historical patterns hold, in conjunction with seasonal patterns, we should see a further decline in the Toronto and Region average sale price when August’s resale data becomes available. It is possible that the Toronto and Region marketplace may see an average sale price of under $1 million in August for the first time since the months preceding the Covid-19 pandemic resale market.
A deeper dive into the July residential resale market reveals some interesting and positively promising patterns.
It would appear that the condominium apartment market, at least in the City of Toronto, has finally stabilized and is marginally improving. This is an extremely important development. In July, the condominium apartment market accounted for almost 18 percent of all reported sales for the entire Toronto Region. Even more dramatically, it accounted for 47 percent of all City of Toronto sales, almost half of the 2,242 City of Toronto reported sales for July.
The good news is that whereas overall year-over-year sales declined but almost 1 percent, City of Toronto condominium apartment sales saw an increase of 3.3 percent to 1,054 reported sales. Similarly, while the overall average sale price decreased by 4.5 percent from $1,051,600 last year to $1,003,956 this year, the average sale price of condominium apartments reported sold in July was only 1.6 percent less than last year. All this leads to cautious optimism about Toronto’s condominium resale market. No doubt the fact that the average sale price came in at $672,807 was a contributing factor to the performance of that sector of the market.
Unfortunately, condominium apartment sales in the 905 Region did not fare as well. Year-over-year sales declined by almost 7 percent, with average sale prices dropping by 5 percent to $560,923, more than $100,000 less than the average sale price of condominium apartment sales in the City of Toronto.
The other bright spot in the Toronto and Region resale marketplace is semi-detached property sales in the City of Toronto. Whereas the market overall is riddled with year-over-year declines, all semi-detached properties in the City of Toronto sold in only 24 days, and for 101 percent of their asking price. In Toronto’s eastern trading districts, all semi-detached properties sold for 106 percent of their asking price and in only 17 days. Unfortunately, semi-detached property sales in the City of Toronto represented only 3.9 percent of total reported sales. Notwithstanding these very positive numbers, sales of semi-detached properties declined by almost 7 percent year-over-year, in lockstep with a 10 percent decline in average sale price. These two sets of data appear incomprehensibly contradictory. The answer lies in the available inventory. The pullback in available inventory has left the less desirable and lower-priced semi-detached properties available to buyers.
At the end of July, 37,105 properties were reported sold for the entire Toronto and Region marketplace. That’s less than a 1 percent improvement compared to the same period last year. As we move into August, we should anticipate more seasonality. Prices will decline, perhaps below $1 million, there will be a drop in sales to between 5,100 and 5,200, and we will see further declines in new listings coming to market as well as lower available inventory at month-end. September will be the key month in determining if the market has not only bottomed but has finally begun a rebound, albeit modestly.
