Across the GTA buyers held back in September. Durham held up better than most. It had the least supply of any region, its homes sold the fastest of the five big regions, and the largest share of new listings found a buyer. Prices are still below last year, though. That's what a balanced market looks like: well-priced homes move, and the rest wait.
TRREB reported 552 sales in Durham in September at an average of $828,141 and a median of $770,000. Homes sold for an average of 98 per cent of asking in 30 days, the quickest of the five big GTA regions. 41.1 per cent of new listings found a buyer, the highest share in the GTA. By our own count, 550 Durham homes went firm this September against 713 a year earlier, a drop of about 23 per cent, so buyers here held back too.
The MLS® Home Price Index, which prices a typical home the same way every month, put Durham's composite benchmark at $805,600, down 5.2 per cent from a year earlier and slightly below August ($811,000).
Houses vs townhouses and apartments
Durham's detached benchmark is down 5.1 per cent on the year. Townhouses are down 7.5 per cent and apartments 7.7 per cent. The biggest single drop is Whitby townhouses, down 13.3 per cent.
| City | Detached | Townhouse | Apartment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax | $929,400 · −3.7% | $617,000 · −5.1% | $433,900 · −9.0% |
| Pickering | $1,061,300 · −4.6% | $603,300 · −4.2% | $465,500 · −8.1% |
| Whitby | $977,100 · −5.1% | $563,400 · −13.3% | $495,700 · −6.6% |
| Oshawa | $750,700 · −5.9% | $489,300 · −9.4% | $409,000 · −6.6% |
| Clarington | $829,300 · −5.5% | $538,800 · −9.0% | $445,900 · −8.8% |
MLS® HPI benchmark price, September 2026, and change from September 2025. "Detached" is TRREB's single-family detached benchmark.
One sign to watch: Ajax was the only one of Durham's five lakeshore cities whose benchmark rose from August, up about 1 per cent, with detached homes and townhouses both up. One month isn't a trend, but it's the first rise we've seen there in a while.
City by city
Right-hand figure is the September MLS® HPI composite benchmark. Sales, median price, average days on market, months of supply (TRREB's trend measure) and average sale-to-list ratio are from TRREB's September 2026 Market Watch.
Whitby is the tightest market in Durham, with under three months of supply, even though its townhouse prices fell the most. Clarington sold fastest, at 23 days on average. Ajax and Whitby both sold at 99 per cent of asking. Oshawa remains the entry point at a median of $653,000, with homes taking a little longer to sell. Pickering has held its overall value best (−3.7%) but takes about a month to sell.
Why so many listings didn't sell
By our own count, about 1,100 Durham listings ended in September without a sale. Roughly seven in ten of them were relisted, usually at a new price. In a market where the homes that sell go at 98 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, Ajax or Clarington, 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, Durham's benchmark is about $112,000 below the GTA's. Townhouses in Whitby, Oshawa and Clarington have dropped the most, so that's where the value is. Don't expect much room on well-priced detached homes in Whitby or Ajax.
If you're an investor, Durham apartments are down 7.7 per cent and townhouses 7.5 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 supply and the share of new listings that sold are from TRREB's September 2026 Market Watch. The September 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, September 2026. This article is general market information, not financial, mortgage or investment advice.
