Finding a detached home for under $1 million in the Toronto area is still possible, but buyers looking in that price range may be facing some of the strongest competition in the market.
New data from the Canadian Real Estate Association and Toronto Regional Real Estate Board shows that detached homes priced below $1 million had the tightest market of any detached price range across the Greater Toronto Area during the second quarter of 2026. (CREA Stats)
In other words, demand was strongest relative to the number of homes available in the cheapest detached price category.
And buyers appear to be returning to that part of the market in a big way.
Sales of detached homes priced below $1 million were up 28.9% compared with the second quarter of 2025. (CREA Stats)
That’s a dramatically different story from several of the more expensive segments of Toronto’s housing market.
Toronto’s Cheapest Detached Homes Are Seeing Some Of The Strongest Demand
CREA divides GTA detached home sales into five price categories:
- Below $1 million
- $1 million to $1.5 million
- $1.5 million to $2 million
- $2 million to $2.5 million
- Above $2.5 million
Of those groups, the under-$1-million category had the tightest market in Q2 2026, meaning demand was strongest relative to supply. (CREA Stats)
Sales in that category also jumped 28.9% year over year.
By comparison, detached home sales between $1 million and $1.5 million increased just 2.7%.
Sales between $1.5 million and $2 million fell 2.4%, while sales between $2 million and $2.5 million dropped 10.5%.
Sales above $2.5 million were up 8.8%. (CREA Stats)
That makes the jump in activity at the lower end of the detached market especially noticeable.
Detached Home Sales Are Rising Across The GTA
The trend comes as Toronto-area housing activity more broadly showed signs of improvement during the spring.
A total of 19,269 residential properties sold across the Greater Toronto Area during Q2 2026, up 7.4% from the same period last year. (CREA Stats)
Detached homes experienced an even larger increase.
There were 9,239 detached home sales during the quarter, up 9% from 8,480 during Q2 2025. (CREA Stats)
But even within the detached market, the data shows buyers weren’t returning equally across every price point.
The biggest year-over-year increase was found below $1 million.
Prices Are Lower Than They Were Last Year
Part of the renewed demand may be happening as Toronto-area home prices remain below last year’s levels.
The median price of a detached home across the GTA was $1.175 million during Q2 2026, down 4.1% from $1.225 million one year earlier. (CREA Stats)
Prices were down even more for some other property types.
The median semi-detached price fell 7.8% to $917,000.
Condo townhouse prices fell 7% to a median of $677,000.
And the median condo apartment price dropped 8.9% to $541,000. (CREA Stats)
Lower prices combined with improved affordability could be bringing more buyers back into the market, particularly at its less expensive end.
There Are Fewer Months Of Detached Inventory Than Last Year
The overall detached market has also tightened compared with 2025.
There were 3.9 months of inventory for detached homes at the end of Q2 2026, down from 4.7 months at the same point last year. (Creastats)
Months of inventory measures approximately how long it would take to sell all currently available properties if homes continued selling at the existing pace and no new listings were added.
A lower number generally indicates a tighter balance between available homes and buyer demand.
Interestingly, homes weren’t necessarily selling faster despite that tightening.
The median detached home that sold during Q2 spent 18 days on the market, compared with 17 days during the same period last year. (Creastats)
The Same Affordability Trend Is Showing Up In Toronto Condos
It’s not only detached homes where buyers appear particularly interested in lower price points.
Among GTA condo apartments, the under-$600,000 category had the tightest market in Q2, with demand strongest relative to available supply. (CREA Stats)
Sales of condos below $600,000 were also up 33.3% compared with last year, the largest increase among the condo apartment price categories tracked by CREA. (CREA Stats)
That creates an interesting pattern across the Toronto-area market.
For both detached houses and condo apartments, some of the strongest demand is currently showing up at the lowest price points tracked by CREA.
Buyers Appear To Be Focusing On The Lower End Of The Market
Toronto’s housing market is still far from inexpensive.
Even after price declines, the median detached home sold for $1.175 million during the second quarter.
But the latest numbers suggest there may be a growing divide between what is happening at the relatively affordable end of the market and what is happening at higher price points.
Detached sales below $1 million jumped 28.9%.
That same category had the strongest demand relative to available supply.
Meanwhile, sales actually declined in two of the three detached price categories between $1.5 million and $2.5 million. (CREA Stats)
For buyers hoping to find one of the relatively rare detached homes still priced below the $1-million mark, that could mean more competition for the homes that do become available.
And if affordability continues to drive buyer decisions, Toronto’s cheapest homes may remain some of the most sought-after properties in the market.
References
CREA: Toronto Sales By Price Range
Canada Housing Market 
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