Toronto Home Sales Rebound 1.2% in October as Prices Support Affordability

Toronto's housing market saw a small recovery in October, with home sales rising for the first time in three months. A total of 5,274 homes were sold across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), marking a 1.2% increase from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The increase comes after two months of falling sales. However, the market is still quieter than it was a year ago. October transactions were down 7.9% compared with the same month in 2025.

One factor working in buyers' favour has been the drop in property prices. Homes have become less expensive over the past year, giving prospective buyers more room to negotiate. This has helped offset some of the pressure from higher borrowing costs.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board's Home Price Index (HPI) recorded a slight monthly increase of 0.1% in October, following seasonal adjustment. The benchmark home price was C$928,800, or approximately US$663,523.

Interest rates remain a concern

The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.50% in October. It was the first increase in three years. The move was intended to prevent higher energy prices from pushing inflation further up.

Higher interest rates usually make home purchases more expensive for buyers who rely on mortgages. But the recent fall in property prices has helped balance some of that additional cost.

Jason Mercer, chief information officer at the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, mentioned how buyers were able to negotiate prices effectively throughout the past year. He also shared how lower selling prices enabled mortgage payments to remain consistently low due to increased costs involved in acquiring loans.

Annual figures still show a weaker market

There are signs of improvement, but the latest figures do not point to a full recovery. New listings across the GTA were down 11.9% from October last year. Home sales also remained below their year-earlier level.

Property prices have followed a similar pattern. Although the benchmark price edged up slightly from September, it was still 4.3% lower than in October 2025.

The October figures offer some relief after two months of declining sales. Whether that improvement continues will become clearer in the coming months, particularly as buyers adjust to changing borrowing costs and property prices.