March 2026 confirms what cautious observers have watched build over the past eighteen months: Southern Ontario is firmly in a buyer's market cycle. Across the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton-Burlington, and Waterloo Region, elevated inventories, declining year-over-year prices, and longer days on market are collectively shifting negotiating power to purchasers.

The Greater Toronto Area recorded 5,039 home sales in March 2026 — a modest 1.7% increase year-over-year — while the average selling price fell 6.7% to $1,017,796, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite benchmark registered an even steeper 7.4% annual decline, reflecting broad-based softening across property types and districts.

Yet the month is not without nuance. On a seasonally adjusted, month-over-month basis, sales edged higher relative to February and average prices stabilized — a tentative signal that the rate of decline may be moderating as we move into the spring market. Affordability has improved meaningfully from 2022 peak levels, and rate cuts from the Bank of Canada (now at 2.3%) are increasingly filtering through to mortgage qualification and buyer psychology.

The March 2026 TRREB Market Watch report covers all major GTA districts. The data below draws directly from TRREB's MLS® system (released April 7, 2026), the Cornerstone Association of REALTORS® data for Hamilton-Burlington, and Waterloo Region Association of REALTORS® (WRAR) reporting.

The City of Toronto shows year-over-year price declines across every major housing type. The condo apartment segment — which accounts for the majority of Toronto's resale activity — has been hardest hit, reflecting a surge in purpose-built rental supply and investor exit pressure. Detached homes in the 416 remain anchored above the million-dollar threshold on average, but the gap between list and sold price is widening. Buyers are negotiating discounts not seen since 2018–2019.

No property type has been immune to the 2026 correction, but the degree of price softening varies considerably. Detached homes in the 905 belt have held up somewhat better than condos, reflecting the supply overhang in purpose-built rentals and the elevated number of investor-owned condo units now returning to the resale market.

Condo apartments are the weakest category, with the 416 market seeing a 9.6% year-over-year price decline and a months-of-inventory level climbing toward buyers' market territory in the condominium segment specifically. Townhouses and semi-detached units follow closely, each off more than 8% annually.

Detached homes — still the most coveted asset class in Southern Ontario — have shown the most resilience but are not immune: a 6.4% annual decline still represents a meaningful correction for owners who purchased at 2021–2022 peaks.

The mood across Southern Ontario's real estate market in March 2026 is one of cautious optimism for buyers and quiet anxiety for sellers. Buyers who once faced multiple offer situations with no conditions have reclaimed tools they haven't used in years: financing conditions, home inspection clauses, and room to negotiate on price.

Average property days on market (PDOM) in the GTA has climbed to 37 days in March 2026 — up sharply from 24 days recorded in March 2025. In Waterloo Region, the average time to sell was 28 days in March 2025, compared to just 14 days on the prior five-year average. Sellers who are not strategically priced are routinely enduring multiple price reductions before finding a buyer.

The sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) in Hamilton-Burlington sits near 40%, a figure consistent with a buyer's market. In Waterloo Region's condo segment, 6.9 months of supply reflects conditions where buyers can negotiate meaningfully on price, conditions, and closing terms.

Consumer confidence remains tempered by trade policy uncertainty, but month-over-month improvements in GTA sales activity suggest the floor may be in. Buyers with pre-approvals are increasingly active, particularly in the $700,000–$1.2M detached price band in the 905.