Home sales across the Greater Toronto Area picked up in May while the supply of new listings shrank, a shift that could tighten conditions for Brampton buyers and sellers in the months ahead.
Realtors reported 6,583 home sales through the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board's MLS System in May 2026, an increase of 6.3 per cent compared with May 2025, according to a TRREB release. New listings entered into the system totalled 17,698, down 18.9 per cent from the same month last year.
The board said the resale market tightened as standing inventory was absorbed, and buyer competition has likely increased in some neighbourhoods. That trend is expected to flatten prices and eventually push them upward.
Spring sales have been stronger than last year, reflecting improved affordability stemming from lower selling prices and borrowing costs. Sales are forecast to improve further as we move through the second half of this year. Recovery would be further bolstered by positive news on the trade front along with an easing of geopolitical tensions and related uncertainty,
TRREB President Daniel Steinfeld said in the release.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, May sales were up 10 per cent month-over-month compared with April, while new listings fell 2.1 per cent — a monthly tightening of market conditions as well as an annual one.
Prices, however, remained below last year's levels. The MLS Home Price Index Composite benchmark was down 6.7 per cent year-over-year in May. The average selling price across the GTA was $1,069,700, a decline of 4.6 per cent compared with May 2025.
Month-over-month, the seasonally adjusted average selling price edged up slightly from April, while the MLS HPI Composite edged slightly lower.
Inventory levels trended lower over the past year, but buyers continued to have substantial negotiating power through the spring, helping with affordability. Looking ahead, if sales strengthen further relative to listings, selling prices will level off and even start to grow as we move into 2027,
TRREB Chief Information Officer Jason Mercer said in the release.
For Brampton homeowners thinking of selling, the shrinking pool of new listings may mean less competition from other properties on the market. For buyers, the numbers suggest the window of softer prices and greater negotiating power may be narrowing if the trend continues.
The board also waded into housing policy, voicing support for provincial legislation aimed at speeding up home construction.
TRREB supports Bill 98, the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2026, which contains a simple but critical truth: if we want more attainable housing, we need to make it easier, faster, and less expensive to build homes. Many of the concrete measures contained in Bill 98 align with recommendations in TRREB's recently released policy report, Removing Roadblocks: Tackling Municipal Barriers to Housing Supply and Affordability in Ontario,
TRREB Chief Executive Officer John DiMichele said in the release.
The monthly figures cover the entire GTA resale market through the board's MLS System. TRREB did not break out separate Brampton or Peel Region numbers in the release.
