Midtown Market Update: August 2026

The Short Version

Across the GTA, the MLS Home Price Index composite slipped 4.5% year over year in August, and the average selling price of $993,410 was down 2.7%. Sales were nearly flat at 5,057. New listings, at 12,075, were down 14.1% from a year earlier, and active listings down 11.3%. In the City of Toronto, the composite benchmark sat at $918,400, down 3.7%, and the detached benchmark at $1,437,900, down 4.3%. Balanced is the honest word for this market: supply and demand are easing together, not racing.

Midtown by District

Inside the belt, detached benchmarks year over year:

• Rosedale: $3,485,900, down 9.6%
• The Annex: $2,582,700, down 0.8%
• Moore Park: $2,464,400, down 0.2%
• Leaside: $2,227,300, down 6.9%
• Mount Pleasant: $1,978,100, down 2.4%
• Forest Hill South: $1,836,900, down 5.7%

Three Toronto districts saw their composite benchmark rise year over year. Two of them are in the belt: Moore Park, up 0.7%, and Mount Pleasant, up 2.6%. The districts that anchor Midtown are the ones holding value.

Rosedale's detached benchmark swings more than the busier districts because fewer sales set it, so read that single reading against the trend, not on its own.

Behind the Numbers

August's new listings fell 14.1% from a year earlier. GDP was up 3.3% in the second quarter and job news has been positive, so this is not a market of distressed sellers. Few owners are listing because few have to.

Buyers have reasons to hesitate even when a purchase fits their budget. Prices have eased and mortgage rates have been relatively flat. The uncertainty is over what comes next: US tariffs, inflation, future borrowing costs.

The Bank of Canada held at 2.25% on September 2, citing energy and trade risks. Today's costs are clearer than next year's.

For Buyers

Supply is actually tighter than it was a year ago. New listings came in at 12,075, down 14.1% year over year, and active listings sat at 24,482, down 11.3%. The calm in this market does not come from a flood of listings. It comes from demand easing at the same pace: sales were off just 2.1%. Borrowing costs are stable, with the Bank of Canada's overnight rate held at 2.25%. You can negotiate without a stampede behind you, but the good listings are not piling up either. The openings worth watching are the addresses where the benchmark eased most: Leaside and Forest Hill South read as relative value right now. And in a belt where the anchor districts barely moved, waiting for a broader correction means waiting on districts that are not correcting.

For Sellers

This market rewards the right price on the right house. The homes moving are the ones priced for today's buyer, not yesterday's. In the districts where values held, well-priced homes still trade well. That is your edge when you price honestly and present well.

What I'm Watching

Whether fall brings more choice. August's seasonally adjusted new listings rose from July, even with the annual decline. The next monthly figures will show whether that continues.

October 28 is the Bank of Canada's next rate decision, released with the Monetary Policy Report. I am also watching the Canada-US trade talks.

Closer to home, I am tracking whether Midtown's anchor districts keep holding value. Next month I will compare that against any change in listings, district by district.

The Bottom Line

Midtown's anchors did not boom in August, and they did not wobble. They held. That is what long-term owners want to see, and what buyers should expect to pay for. The numbers above are district-level; the right number for any given block is a conversation.

Sources: TRREB Market Watch, August 2026; Bank of Canada.