Toronto Real Estate Sales Hit 25-Year Low, Inventory Sets New Record

Greater Toronto real estate started 2025 with a whimper and ended with… near silence. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows prices continued to slide in December. The drop was driven by inventory at record highs and sales slipping lower, with the latter’s volume ending 2025 as the weakest volume in 25 years. While TRREB boasted of the improved affordability, a Big Six economist warns that cuts aren’t enough to restore the unaffordable market. 

Toronto Home Prices Still At 2021 Levels Despite 27% Drop   

The benchmark price of a typical home across Greater Toronto. 

Source: TRREB; CREA; Better Dwelling. 

Greater Toronto real estate prices continued to slide. The price of a typical home fell 1.0% (-$9,400) to $942,300 in December, down 6.3% (-$63,400) from last year. That puts prices just above January 2021, not even wiping out pandemic gains. 

Since peaking in February 2022, prices have slipped 26.5% (-$339,600) lower. That was nearly the cost of a whole home back in 2009, but still not enough to reverse the surge from 2018 to 2022. 

Greater Toronto Real Estate Sales Fell To A 25 Year Low In 2025

Home sales suffered another setback last month. There were 3,697 homes sold in December, down 8.9% from last year. Winter months aren’t busy, but this was 20.7% below December 2019. Home sales have generally improved in recent years, but remain well below historical norms. 

National Bank of Canada (NBF) economists crunched the numbers and found it wasn’t just a holiday slump. “Cumulative home sales in 2025 declined by 7.7% compared to 2024, making it the quietest year in terms of transactions since 2000,” explains NBF economist Daren King. “Although interest rates have fallen slightly due to the Bank of Canada’s policy rate cuts, this has not been enough to revive a housing market that remains unaffordable.”

Toronto Home Sales Slip, Inventory Hits A Record High

Greater Toronto real estate sales vs active listings for December. 

Source: TRREB; CREA; Better Dwelling. 

The good news is there’s inventory for those who are looking to buy a home. TRREB reported 5,299 new listings in December, up 1.8% from last year and a 5-year high. What seems like a small increase was enough to drive total inventory 17.5% higher than last year to 17,005 active listings—a record high for the month. 

“The GTA housing market became more affordable in 2025 as selling prices and mortgage rates trended lower,” explains TRREB President Daniel Steinfeld. He makes the case for tax relief and stimulus policies to “restore consumer confidence.” 

The optimistic take positions this as a policy issue, but glosses over actual market fundamentals. Interest rates have plunged, annual sales were the weakest in a quarter century, and active listings reached a record high for the month. However, as NBF’s King notes, affordability remains a core challenge, with buyers held back by high costs and uncertainty.