Across the GTA buyers stayed careful in October. Durham again held up better than the rest. It had the least supply of any region in the TRREB area, and its homes sold the fastest. Prices are still below last year, and the composite benchmark slipped again from September. Well-priced homes are moving; the rest are waiting.
TRREB reported 589 sales in Durham in October at an average of $793,024 and a median of $740,000. Homes sold for an average of 98 per cent of asking in 29 days, the quickest of any region. 40.6 per cent of new listings found a buyer, the highest of the five big GTA regions. By our own count, 603 Durham homes went firm this October against 722 a year earlier, a drop of 16.5 per cent.
The MLS® Home Price Index, which prices a typical home the same way every month, put Durham's composite benchmark at $798,100, down 5.1 per cent from a year earlier and about 1 per cent below September ($805,600). That's about $118,000 below the benchmark for the whole TRREB area.
Detached, semis and towns, and condos
Durham's detached benchmark is down 5.1 per cent on the year, and semis and freehold towns 5.0 per cent. Condo townhouses are down the most, 8.4 per cent, and condo apartments 4.6 per cent. The biggest single drops are condo townhouses in Whitby (−15.1%), Clarington (−14.7%) and Oshawa (−13.3%).
| City | Detached | Semi / freehold town | Condo town | Condo apt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax | $907,000 · −5.7% | $747,100 · −4.7% | $618,300 · −3.2% | $443,500 · −5.0% |
| Pickering | $1,042,600 · −4.8% | $773,000 · −3.1% | $600,100 · −1.4% | $472,100 · −4.6% |
| Whitby | $978,800 · −3.9% | $734,600 · −4.0% | $561,600 · −15.1% | $497,700 · −3.6% |
| Oshawa | $745,800 · −6.5% | $594,400 · −6.9% | $474,400 · −13.3% | $404,300 · −6.0% |
| Clarington | $818,400 · −4.9% | $636,700 · −5.3% | $512,200 · −14.7% | $448,600 · −5.7% |
MLS® HPI benchmark price, October 2026, and change from October 2025. "Semi / freehold town" is TRREB's attached single-family benchmark, which covers semis and freehold row houses. "Condo town" is TRREB's townhouse benchmark, which covers condominium townhouses.
Ajax's composite benchmark fell 2.4 per cent from September, the most of Durham's five lakeshore cities. Whitby's held flat.
City by city
Right-hand figure is the October MLS® HPI composite benchmark. Sales, median price, average days on market, months of inventory (TRREB's trend measure) and average sale-to-list ratio are from TRREB's October 2026 Market Watch.
Whitby is the tightest market in Durham, with 3 months of inventory. Clarington sold fastest, in 25 days, and closest to asking, at 99 per cent. Oshawa remains the entry point, with a median of $623,750. Pickering has held its value best (−3.1% on the year). Ajax has little supply (3.1 months), but its homes sold for 97 per cent of asking, the lowest of the five. North Durham is much slower: Brock had 7.2 months of inventory, and Scugog and Uxbridge 5.4.
Why so many listings didn't sell
By our own count, about 1,160 Durham listings ended in October without a sale. So far about six in ten of them have been relisted, usually at a new price. When the homes that do sell go for 97 to 99 per cent of asking in under a month, a listing that sits is almost always priced above what buyers see in the recent comparables.
What it means for you
If you're selling in Whitby, Clarington or Ajax, you're in one of the better seats in the GTA: low supply and quick sales, as long as the price matches this fall's comparables. If your listing has gone a month without an offer, the market is telling you something.
If you're buying, condo townhouses in Whitby, Clarington and Oshawa have dropped the most, so that's where the value is. Don't expect much room on well-priced homes in Whitby or Clarington, where homes sell at 98 to 99 per cent of asking.
If you're an investor, Durham condo townhouses are down 8.4 per cent and condo apartments 4.6 per cent from a year ago. Oshawa's lower entry prices make the numbers easiest to work there. Check rents against today's prices, not last year's.
City averages can only tell you so much. The number that decides your price is what homes like yours, on streets like yours, have sold for in the last few months. That's the analysis we do for every client.
Sales, prices, days on market, sale-to-list ratios, months of inventory and the share of new listings that sold are from TRREB's October 2026 Market Watch (released 4 November 2026). The October 2025 sales comparison and the count of listings that ended without a sale were produced by The Renavu Team from TRREB MLS® data; they are not official statistics of, or endorsed by, TRREB or PropTx, and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Benchmark prices are from the TRREB/Altus MLS® Home Price Index, October 2026. This article is general market information, not financial, mortgage or investment advice.
