Toronto home sales rose slightly in August as buyers benefitted from a surge in new listings, while average selling prices fell under the weight of greater supply, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

Total Greater Toronto Area home sales rose 2.3% from a year earlier. New listings climbed 9.4% year-over-year to 14,038. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales edged lower from July, while listings increased, keeping the market well-supplied.

The MLS Home Price Index Composite benchmark declined 5.2% year-over-year, while the average selling price also dropped 5.2% to $1,022,143. Both measures held flat month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis.

“Compared to last year, we have seen a modest increase in home sales over the summer,” said TRREB President Elechia Barry-Sproule. “With the economy slowing and inflation under control, additional interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada could help offset the impact of tariffs. Greater affordability would not only support more home sales but also generate significant economic spin-off benefits.”

Detached single-family home sales saw the biggest increase in August 2025, climbing 5.9% year-over-year to 2,411. Meanwhile, semi-detached units and townhomes were up 2.6% and 2.2%, respectively, from August 2024. But apartment-condominium sales fell 4.9% year-over-year to 1,369.

Between January 1 and August 31, 2025, apartment-condo sales sank 16.6% to 11,134. Year-to-date townhome (-13.1%) and detached single-family home sales (-12.5%) were also down considerably, while semi-detached units sales dipped 4.1%.

In August, the average detached single-family home price dropped 7.5% year over-year about $1.3 million, while apartment-condo prices were fell 5% to $642,195, and semi-detached home ($980,102) and townhome ($860,178) prices declined 4.2% and 3.8%, respectively.

“A household earning the average income in the GTA is still finding it challenging to afford the monthly mortgage payment associated with the purchase of an average priced home,” said TRREB Chief Information Officer Jason Mercer. “This is even with lower borrowing costs and selling prices over the past year. Further relief in borrowing costs would see an increased number of buyers move off the sidelines to take advantage of today’s well-supplied market.”

John DiMichele, CEO of TRREB, said new, large-scale infrastructure projects, including affordable housing, public transit, ports and shipbuilding will be important for sustaining Canada’s economic sustainability in the medium-to-long term.

“However, in the short term, spurring consumer spending on large-ticket items like housing could lead recovery, as it has in previous economic cycles,” he added.