BUYER RESOURCES
Free Home Buyer Tools to help GTA home buyers get organized, compare properties,
understand the market and move forward with confidence.
A MESSAGE FROM danny macedo
Why I Created This Guide
If you’re thinking about buying a home in the Greater Toronto Area, you’re looking at one of the best
opportunities in years. Prices are down from their 2022 peaks. Inventory is healthy. Sellers are negotiating. And for the first time in a long time, buyers have real leverage.
But here’s the catch: opportunity without strategy is just luck. The buyers who are winning in this market aren’t just showing up and making offers. They’re following a specific set of strategies that help them find the right home, avoid costly mistakes, and negotiate from a position of strength.
After 30 years of helping buyers across the GTA...from first-time purchasers in Toronto to families moving up to King City... I’ve seen every mistake and every winning move. This guide gives you the playbook my clients use to buy smarter, faster, and with confidence.
Understand Today's Market
Evaluate Properties Like a Pro
Your Home Buying Checklist
STILL NOT SURE?
Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding the process to purchasing a home in the Greater Toronto Area.
Question 1: How much can I afford when buying a home?
Your affordability depends on your income, savings, debts, credit score, down payment, interest rate, and monthly carrying costs. A mortgage pre-approval is one of the best first steps because it gives you a clearer budget before you start viewing homes.
Question 2: Do I need a mortgage pre-approval before looking at properties?
Yes, it’s strongly recommended. A pre-approval helps you understand your price range, shows sellers you’re a serious buyer, and can help you move faster when the right property becomes available..
Question 3: What costs should I expect besides the purchase price?
Buyers should budget for closing costs, land transfer tax, legal fees, title insurance, home inspection fees, moving costs, property insurance, and possible adjustments for taxes, utilities, or condo fees.
Question 4: What happens after my offer is accepted?
After acceptance, you’ll typically complete any conditions, such as financing or inspection, provide your deposit, we work with your lawyer and lender, arrange insurance, complete the final walkthrough, and prepare for closing day.
TESTIMONIALS
What others are saying
"Service Above Expectations"
"We got out of our house and purchased a home in the community where we wanted to be. I know many people that haven’t had that kind of success. Thanks again for everything!"
- Annette Campagnaro
"Client Care Delivered"
"We were first-time buyers, and Danny Macedo made the whole process feel manageable, even exciting. Anytime we panicked or had questions, Danny or someone on his team got back to us fast, and they alwa ys took the time to explain our options."
- Jenny Roberts
"Trusted Guidance Given"
"Danny’s pricing guidance was spot-on, and he explained the neighborhood comps in a way that actually made sense, so we listed confidently. The best part was the negotiation, because he created momentum with multiple offers, pushed terms that protected us."
- Mike Groves
Royal LePage® Supreme Realty, Brokerage
110 Weston Road
Toronto, ON M6N 0A6
Call 416-535-8000
Text 647-931-5151
Copyright 2026. Macedo Real Estate Group, Danny Macedo, Sales Representative, Anthony Rocco Macedo, Sales Representative, Royal LePage Supreme Realty, Brokerage all rights reserved assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information shown. The information provided herein must only be used by consumers that have a bona fide interest in the purchase, sale or lease of real estate and may not be used for any commercial purpose or any other purpose.
Elite Broker Blogs
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August 2026 in the GTA: Supply Tightens as New Listings Drop 14.1 Per Cent
TRREB released its August 2026 data on September 3, and the headline is not about price. It is about supply. New listings entered into the MLS system amounted to 12,075, down 14.1 per cent compared to August 2025. Active listings fell 11.3 per cent year over year to 24,482. Fewer homes are coming to market, and the pool of available inventory is shrinking.
Sales came in at 5,057, down 2.1 per cent from 5,168 in August 2025. The average selling price was $993,410, a decline of 2.7 per cent from $1,021,300 a year earlier. The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark was down 4.5 per cent year over year.
Prices are still softer than last year, but the supply picture underneath them is changing.
The Supply Side Is the Story
A market with falling inventory and relatively flat sales puts upward pressure on prices over time. That has not happened yet. But the sales to new listings ratio, which measures how many of the new listings are being absorbed by buyers, sat at 37.5 per cent in August. Months of inventory stood at 4.6.
For context, a balanced market is typically defined as four to six months of inventory. The GTA sits squarely in that range right now. But the direction matters more than the snapshot. New listings have been declining, and if that trend holds through the autumn, inventory will tighten further.
TRREB President Daniel Steinfeld put it this way in the August release: buyers may face a trade-off between waiting for greater economic certainty and purchasing before prices move higher.
What Happened by Home Type
Detached homes saw 2,399 sales across the GTA at an average price of $1,288,669. Within the City of Toronto, 550 detached homes sold at an average of $1,525,749. In the 905 regions, 1,849 detached homes sold at an average of $1,218,148.
Year over year, detached sales were up 0.5 per cent overall, one of the few categories to show a gain. Detached prices edged down 1.8 per cent across the GTA.
Semi-detached homes recorded 439 sales at an average of $931,665, with prices down 5.0 per cent year over year. Townhouses saw 832 sales at an average of $786,817, with prices down 8.6 per cent. Condos recorded 1,330 sales at an average of $617,593, with prices down 3.6 per cent.
Townhouses took the largest price correction of any home type in August. That segment has been softening for several months, and August continued the pattern.
York Region in Detail
York Region recorded 971 sales at an average price of $1,179,938 and a median of $1,041,800. Months of inventory sat at 5.0, slightly above the GTA average.
Vaughan saw 242 sales at an average of $1,234,758 and a median of $1,148,750. The sales to new listings ratio was 36.8 per cent with 4.9 months of inventory. For detached homes specifically, Vaughan recorded 122 sales at an average price of $1,671,824.
King Township remains the most expensive market in the region at an average price of $1,851,310, but it is also the slowest. Just 21 homes sold in August, and months of inventory reached 11.4, more than double the GTA average. Detached homes in King averaged $2,119,853 on only 17 sales. At that pace, King is firmly a buyer's market.
Markham was the busiest municipality in York Region with 282 sales at an average of $1,208,692. Richmond Hill recorded 161 sales at $1,205,777.
The Economic Backdrop
The Bank of Canada overnight rate stood at 2.3 per cent in August, with a prime rate of 4.5 per cent. Posted mortgage rates remain elevated: 5.49 per cent for a one year fixed, 6.05 per cent for three years, and 6.09 per cent for five years.
Toronto employment growth was 1.5 per cent in July, with unemployment at 6.8 per cent. Inflation ran at 3.0 per cent year over year. GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026 was negative 0.1 per cent.
TRREB Chief Information Officer Jason Mercer noted that ownership housing in the GTA has remained relatively affordable over the past year, with average prices dipping and mortgage rates remaining somewhat flat. The main holdback for many households, he said, has been concerns around trade with the United States and the potential for higher inflation and borrowing costs.
What to Watch in September
The autumn market will tell us whether the inventory decline is a seasonal dip or the start of a tighter cycle. If new listings continue to fall at anything close to 14 per cent year over year, the months of inventory number will drop below 4.0 by the end of the year, and that is when price pressure typically returns.
For now, the market sits in balance. Sellers are not listing in the numbers they were a year ago, and buyers are not rushing in either. The question is which side moves first.
Source: TRREB Market Watch, August 2026. All figures are for the TRREB market area unless otherwise noted.
If you want to know what these numbers mean for your specific neighbourhood or your home's value, call me at 416-560-4983. I will pull the data for your street and walk you through it.
Danny Macedo
REALTOR®, Macedo Real Estate Group
Royal LePage Supreme Realty, Brokerage
416-560-4983
