GTA home sales in October: 5,603, down 7.9% — the TRREB release in plain words

What happened

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB, the group of real estate agents in Toronto and nearby areas) released its October housing numbers on November 4, 2026. The main message: many people put off buying a home because they did not know where inflation, borrowing costs (mortgage rates) and the economy were going.

• Sales: 5,603. That is 7.9% fewer than October 2025 (6,083).
• New listings (homes newly put up for sale): 14,173, down 11.9% from October 2025 (16,080).
• Average selling price: $1,024,108, down 2.7% from October 2025 ($1,052,539). The median price (the middle value) was $860,000.
• MLS Home Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark price: $916,400, down 4.3% from last October.
• Compared with September on a seasonally adjusted basis, sales and new listings rose, and the benchmark price and average price edged up.
• Active listings (homes still for sale) at the end of October: 25,098, which is 10.0% fewer than last year (27,899). Sold homes were on the market for 31 days on average (LDOM), the same as last year.

• 5,603October sales (down 7.9% from last year)
• 14,173October new listings (down 11.9%)
• $1,024,108Average selling price (down 2.7%)
• $916,400HPI composite benchmark price (down 4.3%)

The home type figures are from the table on the first page of the October 2026 Market Watch. Townhouse combines freehold townhouses (508) and condo townhouses (425). Detached sales rose 0.5% to 741 in the City of Toronto (416 area) and fell 6.2% to 1,952 in the rest of the GTA (905 area).

In charts: the last three Octobers

Comparing the same month keeps the seasonal effect about the same, so it is easier to see how the market changed year to year. Below are the last three Octobers. Each chart comes with a table of the same numbers so you can compare them yourself. The last chart shows the average price by home type in October 2026.

The terms in plain words

• Sales: the number of firm deals that month through TRREB’s MLS system (the system agents use to list homes and record sales).
• New listings: the number of homes newly put up for sale that month. Active listings are the homes still for sale, not yet sold, on the last day of the month.
• Average price: all sale prices added up and divided by the number of sales. The median is the middle price when all sales are lined up from low to high.
• Benchmark price (MLS HPI): an index that tracks the price of a "typical" home with similar features (rooms, size). In October 2026 the GTA benchmark was $1,194,200 for detached homes (down 4.44%), $662,200 for townhouses (down 6.64%) and $521,600 for apartments (down 7.33%).
• Seasonally adjusted: numbers with the usual yearly pattern taken out. Actual sales rose from 5,034 in September (as revised in the October report; first reported as 5,040) to 5,603 in October, but in 2025 they also rose, from 5,540 in September to 6,083 in October. That is why seasonally adjusted numbers are used to compare with the month before.

The background TRREB gave

TRREB said uncertainty about inflation, borrowing costs and the economy led many people to hold off on buying in October. It said the monthly mortgage payment on an average-priced home has gone up a little from a year ago, but is still much easier to afford than the payments needed in 2023 and 2024.

The board’s president said, in short, that a Canada-U.S. trade deal and an end to the conflict in the Middle East could ease worries about inflation and the economy and bring back interest in buying a home in 2027. The board’s chief information officer said, in short, that buyers had strong bargaining power on price over the past year, and that lower prices kept monthly payments from rising as much as borrowing costs did. The board’s CEO said, in short, that the region’s population will keep growing, and that policy announcements such as HST rebates and lower development charges should help bring a wider mix of ownership and rental homes over the medium term. These are the board’s views, not settled outcomes.

For reference, the economic indicators on the first page of the same report list the Bank of Canada’s policy rate at 2.5% (October 2026) and September inflation at 3.1%.

What it means for GTA buyers, sellers and renters (explanation)

This explains how to read the numbers. It is not advice to buy or sell.

• Buyers: sales and prices were lower than last October. But home types differ a lot. The average condo apartment price fell 5.8% and the average detached price fell 3.2%. With the policy rate higher, the amount you can borrow under the mortgage stress test may change, so check your pre-approval amount with your lender again before you shop.
• Sellers: new listings fell 11.9% and active listings fell 10.0%, so there were fewer competing homes than last year. Still, sales fell 7.9% and the average days on market (31) was the same as last year. Pricing is usually based on recent sales nearby (a comparative market analysis).
• Condo vs. detached: condo apartment sales fell 10.4% and detached sales fell 4.4%. Within the same GTA, the market moves differently by home type, so look at the numbers for your home type and neighbourhood rather than the GTA total.
• Renters: this release is about the resale market. Rent numbers are reported separately, so you cannot read rent going up or down from these figures.

What to watch next

TRREB publishes the previous month’s numbers early each month in its "Market Watch" report. Check the official schedule on the TRREB website for the November release date. The Bank of Canada’s rate announcement dates, which affect mortgage rates, are on the Bank’s official schedule. This article does not predict the market.