GTA Real Estate, August 2026: Sellers Went Quiet and Prices Held Just Under $1 Million

Twenty Augusts in this business and they mostly feel the same. Phones go quiet, half my clients are at the cottage, and nobody wants to talk mortgages. This one was quieter than usual, and the quiet turned out to help prices. The average home sold for $993,410, down 2.73% from last August and 1.05% below July. In July the annual decline was 4.53%. The gap is closing, and that is the part I would pay attention to.

The number that matters this month isn't the price. It's supply. New listings fell 13.98% year over year to 12,075, and 16.63% below July. Sales gave up far less, off 2.15% to 5,057. Some of the slowdown is just the calendar, since August is always the deadest stretch of the year, so don't build a theory on the month-over-month figures. The year-over-year gap is the real one. Sellers walked away from this market much faster than buyers did, and prices held because of it.

Under the average, the market sorted itself by product and by postal code. Detached was the most stubborn segment GTA-wide at $1,288,669, off only 1.80%, while townhouses took the hit at $882,060, down 6.80%. Homes averaged 35 days on market, up 6.06%. York Region pulled apart completely: Markham, Vaughan and Newmarket all finished ahead of last year while Aurora dropped 18.69%. City by city, then.

Across the GTA: a quiet month with stubborn prices

For buyers this is the most workable market I have seen in years. The average sits at $993,410 and homes take 35 days to sell, up 6.06% from last August. You can view a place on Saturday, sleep on it, drag your contractor cousin through it on Sunday, and still write a conditional offer. The discounts are not sitting where most people assume, though. Detached is the firmest segment at $1,288,669, off just 1.80%, while townhouses at $882,060 are down 6.80% and semis at $931,665 are down 4.94%. Shop the middle of the market and that is your leverage.

Sellers, the headline is worse than your actual position. Sales did fall 2.15% to 5,057. But new listings fell 13.98% to 12,075, which means the buyer standing in your kitchen has fewer places to go than they did a year ago. About 42% of new listings found a buyer this month. That is a market that works.

My read after two decades of these Augusts: nobody gets bailed out by momentum this year. The homes that sell are the ones priced against August 2026 comparables. Not 2024. Price it there and it goes. Anchor to a number your neighbour got two springs ago and you will spend the fall chasing the market down in $25,000 steps.

By the numbers for Greater Toronto Area, August 2026: average selling price $993,410 (-2.7% year-over-year); 5,057 homes sold (-2.1%); 12,075 new listings (-14.0%); 35 average days on market. By type: Detached $1,288,669 (-1.8%), Semi-Detached $931,665 (-4.9%), Townhouse $882,060 (-6.8%), Condo $617,593 (-3.8%).

Toronto held its price better than anywhere else

On price, the city won. The average Toronto home sold for $979,684, down only 1.25% year over year, the mildest decline of any market that fell this month. Detached actually finished a hair ahead of last August at $1,525,749, up 0.11%. Semis were near flat too, off 1.84% to $1,110,639. Condos eased 2.40% to $651,648. Sales landed at 1,767, essentially where they were last year at down 0.67%.

The soft spot is freehold townhouses, down 9.36% to $1,026,018. Biggest town decline the city has posted in a while, and it happens to be the product a growing family wants. If a Toronto freehold town has been on your list since spring, this is the segment where I would push hard on price. Bring the inspection condition too.

Toronto sellers, ignore the month-over-month column. Sales down 21.19% and price down 3.08% look terrifying on a chart and they are mostly just August being August. What counts is that new listings fell 7.45% to 4,200 while buyers kept transacting at last year's pace. At 35 days, plan for a proper marketing window. Not a weekend and an offer night.

By the numbers for City of Toronto, August 2026: average selling price $979,684 (-1.3% year-over-year); 1,767 homes sold (-0.7%); 4,200 new listings (-7.5%); 35 average days on market. By type: Detached $1,525,749 (+0.1%), Semi-Detached $1,110,639 (-1.8%), Townhouse $1,026,018 (-9.4%), Condo $651,648 (-2.4%).

Why Vaughan climbed while the GTA slipped

Vaughan was one of only three markets in this report that gained ground on the year. The average rose 1.97% to $1,234,758 and jumped 7.87% from July. Detached is doing the lifting: $1,671,824, up 4.19%, the highest detached average of any city here. Condos nudged up too, 0.71% to $607,650.

That average is hiding a split, and buyers should know about it before they write. Semi-detached fell 7.94% to $1,010,714 and townhouses fell 5.63% to $1,055,000. Money in Vaughan moved toward detached while the attached market softened underneath it. Buying a semi or a town here means buying the weaker half, so price your offer like it.

Choice is the problem. New listings dropped 12.02% to 593, sales fell 7.63% to 242, and homes still sold in 33 days, identical to last August. Fewer options at the same speed means the right Vaughan house does not sit around waiting for you to think it over. I have watched two clients lose the same street twice. For sellers, thin competition plus rising detached values is roughly the best hand this market deals.

By the numbers for Vaughan, August 2026: average selling price $1,234,758 (+2.0% year-over-year); 242 homes sold (-7.6%); 593 new listings (-12.0%); 33 average days on market. By type: Detached $1,671,824 (+4.2%), Semi-Detached $1,010,714 (-7.9%), Townhouse $1,055,000 (-5.6%), Condo $607,650 (+0.7%).

Markham looks like the strongest market. Read the fine print.

By the headline, it is the standout. Markham was the only market we track where sales rose, up 17.50% to 282, while the average price climbed 6.37% to $1,208,692 and 6.84% from July. Homes sold in 33 days. Sales and prices rising together usually means buyers have made up their minds about value.

Now the honest part. Three of the four property types actually fell. Detached rose 2.42% to $1,611,773, but semis dropped 13.20% to $958,133, townhouses dropped 9.39% to $1,031,119, and condos eased 2.18% to $638,332. A rising average sitting on top of falling segments means the mix tilted toward expensive detached sales. Detached demand in Markham is genuinely strong. The attached market is not, and that is precisely where your opening is.

So: if you want a Markham semi or townhouse, this is one of the better buying windows in York Region, with discounts in the double digits and close to it against last year. If you own detached, you are in the best seller's position anywhere in this report, though with new listings down only 8.03% to 584 you have more company than your neighbours in Vaughan do.

By the numbers for Markham, August 2026: average selling price $1,208,692 (+6.4% year-over-year); 282 homes sold (+17.5%); 584 new listings (-8.0%); 33 average days on market. By type: Detached $1,611,773 (+2.4%), Semi-Detached $958,133 (-13.2%), Townhouse $1,031,119 (-9.4%), Condo $638,332 (-2.2%).

Richmond Hill is where buyers have the most room

For most buyers, this is the address. The average price fell 3.35% to $1,205,777, sales fell 8.52% to 161, and homes took 37 days to sell, second-slowest in this report. Fewer competing buyers plus a longer clock is exactly the combination that gets an offer accepted under asking.

The clearest value is at the entry level. Condos dropped 10.87% to $538,509, the lowest condo average of any city here and more than $110,000 below Toronto's. Townhouses fell 7.96% to $1,030,927. Detached barely flinched, off 1.55% to $1,667,913. So the discount is concentrated in the affordable half of the market, which is where first-time buyers actually shop.

Treat one number with suspicion: semi-detached came in at $1,040,000, up 9.74%. Richmond Hill sells a handful of semis in a month, so that average swings on two or three sales and I would never price a listing off it. Sellers, new listings are down 10.02% to 449, so you have room to breathe. This market pays you for getting the price right on day one, not for chasing it down over six weeks.

By the numbers for Richmond Hill, August 2026: average selling price $1,205,777 (-3.4% year-over-year); 161 homes sold (-8.5%); 449 new listings (-10.0%); 37 average days on market. By type: Detached $1,667,913 (-1.6%), Semi-Detached $1,040,000 (+9.7%), Townhouse $1,030,927 (-8.0%), Condo $538,509 (-10.9%).

Aurora's 18.69% drop needs some context

Aurora posted the biggest decline in the report. Average price down 18.69% to $1,105,004, and down 15.12% from July. Before anyone forwards that to their panicked uncle: Aurora recorded 49 sales in August. At that volume, the average tells you as much about which houses happened to close as about what values did. Detached, which is the backbone of that town, fell 7.51% to $1,467,448. That is the number I would trust. A real decline, and nowhere near 18%.

The segment figures are striking. Condos fell 37.11% to $518,833 and townhouses fell 22.60% to $855,643, both the lowest of any market here. Those are very thin categories in Aurora, so read them as a direction, not a valuation. What they do tell you is that attached product in Aurora has repriced, and substantially.

Aurora is also the slowest market we track: 42 days, up 7.69% on the year and 23.53% from July, with new listings down 6.92% to 121 and sales down 10.91%. A buyer with time and financing already arranged has real leverage there right now. A seller needs a realistic number and patience, in that order. Before you pick a price in Aurora, call me and we'll pull the actual comparables off your street. The town-wide average will mislead you.

By the numbers for Aurora, August 2026: average selling price $1,105,004 (-18.7% year-over-year); 49 homes sold (-10.9%); 121 new listings (-6.9%); 42 average days on market. By type: Detached $1,467,448 (-7.5%), Semi-Detached $870,833 (-2.8%), Townhouse $855,643 (-22.6%), Condo $518,833 (-37.1%).

Newmarket: still the cheapest, and now the quickest

It remains the most affordable market in this report, and it is also the fastest. The average price rose 5.31% to $1,048,321, up 8.43% from July, and homes sold in 30 days, down 18.92% from last August. Sales came in at 83, dead flat against last year. Steady demand on a shorter clock is a healthy pairing.

The eye-catcher is detached, up 22.01% to $1,416,053. On 83 total sales that is partly a mix effect, and I would not tell a client to bank on a 22% gain on their own house. The more useful comparison: Newmarket detached still runs roughly $250,000 under Vaughan or Richmond Hill detached. Semis at $829,714, down 1.18%, are the cheapest semis of any city here. Townhouses at $846,841, down 3.44%, held up better than towns anywhere else in the GTA.

One oddity worth flagging: at $660,700, the Newmarket condo average is now above Toronto's $651,648. Small segment, small sample, so don't build anything on it. Practically speaking, come to Newmarket pre-approved and ready to decide, because 30 days is the regional record and it shows up as lost houses. Sellers here have one of the better setups in the GTA, with new listings down 13.04% and demand sitting exactly where it was a year ago.

By the numbers for Newmarket, August 2026: average selling price $1,048,321 (+5.3% year-over-year); 83 homes sold (+0.0%); 160 new listings (-13.0%); 30 average days on market. By type: Detached $1,416,053 (+22.0%), Semi-Detached $829,714 (-1.2%), Townhouse $846,841 (-3.4%), Condo $660,700 (-0.7%).