Most home buyers expect to pay less than the asking price in today’s softer market, but how much less depends heavily on the type of home.
New HouseSigma data shows that in August 2026, 79.3% of Greater Toronto Area home sales closed below the seller’s final asking price. Only 17.7% went above list price, and 3.0% landed exactly on it (see infographic below).
However, the discount varies by property type. Detached houses and condo apartments both sold at a median of about 3.2% below asking in August. Attached homes, meaning townhouses, semi-detached houses, and link homes, came in at 2.21%, a full point better than either.
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Of 4,855 home sales in August, the overall median GTA sale price was $855,000, down 1.16% from July and down 4.79% from $898,000 in August 2025.
- Detached homes had a median price of $1,140,000, down 0.44% from July and 3.39% lower than a year earlier.
- Attached homes came in at $813,500, down 1.39% over the month and 4.46% over the year.
- Condo apartments went for a median of $530,000, down 1.94% from July and 6.77% below August 2025.
Condos fell furthest over the month and over the year, detached held up best, and attached sat between them.
Sale vs list prices
The typical GTA home buyer in August paid $24,000 less than the list price, a median discount of 2.97%.
The median variance by home type:
- Detached: 3.26% below asking
- Condo apartment: 3.21% below asking
- Attached: 2.21% below asking
Attached homes sit in the middle of the price range but take the smallest discount of the three types. Buyers shopping that segment have less room to negotiate than the regional 2.97% figure implies.
Regional breakdown
Sellers gave up the most ground at the outer edges of the GTA region. In Uxbridge, 90.5% of August sales closed below asking, followed by Caledon at 88.3%, Halton Hills at 87.7%, Oakville at 86.8% and Georgina at 85.1%. It’s worth noting that Uxbridge recorded only 21 qualifying sales, so its lead is fragile: one different outcome moves it by several points.
Ajax and Markham were the region’s most competitive markets, with the smallest proportions (65.8% and 69.9%, respectively) of sales closing below list price. Sixteen of the 26 municipalities that we measured (which must have had at least 20 sales in August) sat above the GTA-wide figure of 79.3%.
Outlier sale prices
Four August sales ran well clear of the regional pricing patterns.
A ripe-for-redevelopment, five-bedroom detached house at 36 Galley Avenue in Toronto was listed at $1,099,000 and sold for $1,700,000, 54.7% above asking and the largest percentage overshoot in the region. And newly built, architectural-award-winning detached home in Toronto that looks more like an art gallery than a residence sold for $23,500,000, $1.5 million over ask and the largest dollar premium of the month.
Discounts ran deep at the other end of the spectrum. Another redevelopment opportunity, this three-bedroom detached bungalow in Markham was listed at $1,999,999 and sold for $1,500,000, 25% below asking and the steepest percentage discount on any house in the region in August. A four-bedroom golf-course-community home in Etobicoke was listed at $4,650,000 and sold for $3,700,000, a shortfall of $950,000 and the largest dollar discount on a house in the month (aside from farmland-based deals).
What it all means for buyers and sellers
For buyers, what you can negotiate depends more on the type of home and the municipality than on the regional figure. A detached house in Caledon or Halton Hills sits in the part of the market where sellers are conceding most readily, and opening at the asking price there leaves money on the table. A townhouse or semi is a different negotiation, with roughly a third less room built into the typical outcome, and buyers in Ajax or Markham should expect competition rather than a guaranteed discount.
How to spot your negotiating room on any home purchase The two data points on every HouseSigma listing that make it easySellers should price against their own home type and municipality rather than the regional median sale price, or with the expectation that it will see the regional median discount. A detached house priced as though that regional median figures apply to it will likely sit longer and take a larger cut in the end. Owners of attached homes face the lightest discounting of the three types and have room to hold firmer.
Check out the full Greater Toronto August 2026 PriceWatch infographic below for more details and breakdowns by area and property type. Mouseover or touch the price chart points to reveal the full data.
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