Key Takeaways
- Toronto condo inventory is elevated in 2026 — MOI above 5 months means it’s a buyer’s market
- Five data dimensions to master: Active Listings total, MOI, Sell-through Rate, Average Price Trend, and DOM
- MOI > 4 months + DOM > 30 days = you have real negotiating power
- Use price-per-sq-ft of recent comparable sales — not the list price — as your benchmark
- Data is your leverage; knowing how to read it is the difference between a good deal and overpaying
What are Active Listings, and why do they matter so much for condo buyers right now? Active Listings refers to the total number of properties currently listed for sale on MLS that have not yet sold. This number is one of the most direct measures of supply in the market. According to data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), Toronto condo Active Listings remained at historically elevated levels throughout 2025 and into early 2026 — well above the balanced market threshold. As a broker who has worked in the Greater Toronto Area for over a decade, I’ve watched buyers leave significant money on the table simply because they didn’t know how to read the data in front of them. This guide breaks down the five key metrics you need to understand, and more importantly, how to translate that understanding into a smarter offer strategy.
The total Active Listings count tells you how many units are competing for buyers’ attention right now. When Active Listings are significantly above the five-year average for the same period, supply is outpacing demand — which shifts negotiating power to buyers.
How to access this data: TRREB publishes monthly market reports broken down by property type and district. Your realtor can also pull real-time MLS data filtered by specific neighbourhood, building, or unit size. When reading the data, keep these principles in mind:
- Always compare to the same month in prior years to avoid seasonal distortions (inventory naturally dips in December)
- Drill down to the specific neighbourhood and size range you’re targeting — C01 downtown and Scarborough tell very different stories
- Separate condo apartments from condo townhouses — they behave differently in the same market
According to TRREB’s Q1 2026 data, Greater Toronto condo Active Listings were up over 15% year-over-year, with downtown Toronto’s C01 district approaching decade-high inventory levels. For buyers, this is a rare window of opportunity.
MOI = Active Listings ÷ Monthly Sales. This tells you how many months it would take to sell all current inventory at the current pace of sales — assuming no new listings come to market.
MOI Reference Guide
MOI under 2 months → Seller’s market — competition is fierce, low offers rarely work
MOI 2–4 months → Balanced market — both sides have leverage, tread carefully
MOI over 4 months → Buyer’s market — conditions, lower offers, flexible terms all become viable
Toronto condo MOI ran between 5 and 8 months throughout late 2025 and early 2026 — a level not seen since the post-2008 period. This is the market context that makes submitting conditions, writing firm offers below asking, and requesting price reductions all reasonable strategies. If you are waiving conditions and bidding over list on a condo right now, you are likely not reading the data correctly.
Sales-to-Active Ratio = Monthly Sales ÷ Active Listings × 100%. This tells you what percentage of available inventory is actually selling each month — a proxy for how urgently buyers are moving.
- Below 15%: Inventory is piling up faster than it’s selling — clear buyer’s market
- 15%–20%: Balanced zone — both sides need to be reasonable
- Above 20%: Homes are selling fast — sellers have pricing power
Toronto condos were running a Sales-to-Active Ratio of approximately 12%–16% in early 2026, meaning most listed units were not selling quickly. A large proportion of sellers had already been waiting 30+ days with no accepted offer.
What this means for your offer strategy: when the sell-through rate is this low, sellers are genuinely motivated. You can include a home inspection condition and a financing condition without meaningfully reducing your chances of winning the deal. You don’t need to be the hero buyer who waives everything.
From Market Data to Offer Strategy
Price trend data is not about predicting where prices are going — it’s about knowing whether a specific unit is priced fairly right now. Your benchmark should always be recent comparable sales, not the list price.
How to use price data effectively:
- Pull closed sales from the same building or immediate neighbourhood within the past 90 days
- Calculate the price per square foot (PSF) of each comparable — this is the most apples-to-apples comparison for condos
- Compare your target unit’s list price PSF against those comps — a significant premium signals overpricing
- Track year-over-year change: According to TRREB, Toronto condo average prices were down approximately 5%–10% year-over-year in early 2026, meaning sellers who haven’t adjusted their price are still living in 2024 expectations
The citywide average Toronto condo sale price was approximately $620,000–$680,000 in Q1 2026, but this varies enormously by location: downtown C01 units trade at a premium, while units in Scarborough, North York, or Etobicoke may be 20–30% lower per sq ft. Always compare like-for-like.
DOM tells you how long a specific unit has been sitting on the market without an accepted offer. It is one of the most powerful single signals for evaluating negotiating leverage on a specific property.
Practical DOM benchmarks for Toronto condos in 2026:
- DOM under 7 days: Still generating interest — be competitive, don’t low-ball aggressively
- DOM 7–30 days: Normal flow — offer near comparable sales, conditions are reasonable
- DOM 30–60 days: Seller is concerned — offering below asking with conditions is entirely appropriate
- DOM over 60 days: Unit is stale — confidently offer 5%–10% below asking; request price adjustments or seller concessions
Important: Always check whether the listing has been re-listed. Some sellers take their unit off the market briefly and re-list it to reset the DOM counter to zero. An experienced realtor can trace the full listing history through MLS and give you the true accumulated DOM.
In early 2026, the average DOM for Toronto condos was approximately 35–45 days — compared to just 7–14 days during the seller’s market peak of 2021–2022. This means buyers now have real time to conduct proper due diligence without fear of being outbid overnight.
2026 Toronto Condo Buyer Strategy Checklist
When MOI exceeds 5 months, DOM is over 30 days, and the sell-through rate is below 15%, buyers can reasonably: (1) Include a financing condition and a home inspection condition without jeopardizing the deal; (2) Offer 3%–8% below list price, depending on the specific unit’s comp analysis; (3) Request that the seller address known deficiencies or offer a price adjustment; (4) Negotiate an extended or flexible closing date to suit your timeline. These strategies were nearly impossible in the 2021–2022 seller’s market — but in today’s environment, they are entirely normal and appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Months of Inventory (MOI) mean in real estate?
Months of Inventory (MOI) is calculated by dividing the number of active listings by the number of sales in a given month. It tells you how long it would take to sell all current inventory at the current pace. Under 2 months is a seller’s market; 2–4 months is balanced; over 4 months is a buyer’s market. According to TRREB, Toronto condo MOI was running 5–8 months in early 2026, firmly in buyer’s market territory — giving buyers significant negotiating leverage.
How do high active listings benefit condo buyers in Toronto?
High active listings mean more supply and less competition among buyers. Sellers in a high-inventory market are more willing to accept offers below asking price, agree to conditions like financing and home inspection, and offer more flexible terms such as extended closing dates. Buyers can negotiate from a position of strength rather than urgency — a stark contrast to the bidding-war environment of 2021–2022.
How many days on market (DOM) is too long for a Toronto condo?
In Toronto’s 2026 condo market, a listing active for more than 30 days is showing signs of weak demand or overpricing. Listings over 60 days are considered stale, and buyers can confidently offer 5%–10% below asking. Always verify whether the listing has been re-listed to artificially reset the DOM counter — an experienced realtor can pull the full listing history through MLS to determine the true time on market.
Active Listings
Months of Inventory
Buyer’s Market 2026
Days on Market
Condo Market Analysis
Discover more from GTA Real Estate Broker | Arthur Zhao
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