Published 2 November 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
Most GTA homes took about three to five weeks to sell in 2026. The fastest cities were Whitby (24.2 days on average), Ajax (24.7), Clarington (25.6), Oshawa (27.1) and Pickering (27.3), all in Durham Region. The City of Toronto averaged 31.5 days and King Township 48.6, based on January to October 2026 sales.
This guide is for homeowners in the Greater Toronto Area who are planning to sell in 2027 and want a realistic idea of how long it will take. You will see which five GTA cities sold homes fastest in 2026, how they compare with Toronto and the slowest markets, and what actually makes one listing sell in two weeks while another sits for two months.
How long does it take to sell a house in the GTA?
In 2026, most GTA homes that sold took about three to five weeks from listing to a firm deal. Across all home types in the City of Toronto, the sales-weighted average was 31.5 days on market from January to October 2026. That is up from 29.3 days in 2025 and 24.6 days in 2024, so homes are taking longer to sell each year.
The range across the GTA’s municipalities is wide. Whitby averaged 24.2 days. King Township averaged 48.6. After the deal is firm, you still have the closing period, which is the number of days you and the buyer agree on before the keys change hands.
One definition matters here. TRREB reports two figures. Listing days on market counts the days a sold listing was on the market. Property days on market counts every listing of the same property during the original listing contract, so relisting does not reset the clock. In September 2026, TRREB reported an average of 34 listing days and 51 property days on market across its whole area. The gap shows how many homes were relisted before they sold.
Which GTA cities sell homes the fastest?
I ranked the 24 GTA municipalities outside Toronto in the REALM data by average days on market across all home types, weighted by the number of sales. The five fastest are all in Durham Region.
| Rank | City | Avg days on market, 2026 (all types) | Same, 2025 | Detached median, 2026 | Detached avg days | Homes sold, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitby | 24.2 | 21.6 | $977,000 | 23 | 1,175 |
| 2 | Ajax | 24.7 | 23.0 | $925,000 | 23 | 852 |
| 3 | Clarington | 25.6 | 21.6 | $820,000 | 25 | 1,040 |
| 4 | Oshawa | 27.1 | 22.8 | $730,000 | 25 | 1,513 |
| 5 | Pickering | 27.3 | 24.9 | $1,039,999 | 26 | 1,032 |
| Compare | City of Toronto (all districts) | 31.5 | 29.3 | varies by district | varies | 19,513 |
| Compare | Mississauga | 34.1 | 29.8 | $1,225,000 | 31 | 4,602 |
| Slowest | King | 48.6 | 43.7 | $1,850,000 | 47 | 185 |
Source: TRREB MLS data via REALM, January–October 2026 vs the same period of 2025. Days on market averaged across detached, semi, freehold town, condo townhouse and condo apartment sales, weighted by sales (my calculation). Not a forecast.
Two patterns stand out. First, the fast cities are also some of the more affordable ones for freehold homes. Second, every one of them got slower than in 2025. Whitby went from 21.6 to 24.2 days, and Oshawa from 22.8 to 27.1. Fast is relative in this market.
1. Whitby: the fastest-selling GTA city in 2026
What it is like: Whitby is a Lake Ontario town between Ajax and Oshawa, with about 138,500 people at the 2021 census. It is the home of Durham Region’s headquarters. Highway 401 crosses the south end, Highway 407 opened through Whitby in 2016 between Brooklin and the main urban area, and Highway 412 links the two. Whitby GO is on the Lakeshore East line.
What the numbers say: homes sold in 24.2 days on average. Detached homes, with a median of $977,000, averaged 23 days, and freehold townhouses ($765,000 median) also averaged 23. Condo apartments were slower at 34 days.
What sellers should check: Whitby’s detached median fell 6.2% from 2025. Fast sales here still depend on pricing close to recent comparable sales. If you are selling, my notes on choosing a realtor in Whitby cover what to ask.
2. Ajax: quick sales and a lower detached price
What it is like: Ajax is a waterfront town in Durham with about 126,700 people (2021 census). It has a pedestrian-only waterfront trail and Ajax GO on the Lakeshore East line.
What the numbers say: 24.7 days on average. Detached homes ($925,000 median) and semis ($810,000) both averaged 22 to 23 days. Freehold townhouse sales dropped 20.9%, but those that sold still averaged 27 days.
What sellers should check: Ajax condo apartments fell 14.0% and averaged 38 days. Condo sellers here should expect a longer process than freehold owners.
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3. Clarington: Bowmanville, Courtice and Newcastle
What it is like: Clarington is a municipality of about 101,400 people (2021 census) that takes in Bowmanville, Courtice, Newcastle and Orono, plus rural hamlets. Highway 401 runs through all of it. Highway 407 was extended into north Clarington to Highway 35/115 in December 2019. Metrolinx is extending the Lakeshore East GO line to new Courtice and Bowmanville stations, but I could not confirm an opening date, so do not price that in yet.
What the numbers say: 25.6 days on average. Freehold townhouses ($647,850 median) and semis ($627,500) were the fastest at 19 days each. Condo townhouses averaged 40 days.
What sellers should check: Clarington’s average days on market rose four days from 2025, one of the bigger slowdowns on this list.
4. Oshawa: the busiest market of the five
What it is like: Oshawa had about 175,400 people at the 2021 census. Ontario Tech University, Durham College and Trent University Durham all have campuses here, and Oshawa GO is the eastern end of the Lakeshore East line.
What the numbers say: 27.1 days on average, with 1,513 sales, the most of the five. Oshawa had the lowest detached median on this list at $730,000, and semis sold in 21 days. Condo apartments were the slow spot at 51 days.
What sellers should check: Oshawa’s detached median fell 8.8% and sales fell 15.6%. More homes are competing for fewer buyers, so presentation and price matter. See my notes on picking a realtor in Oshawa.
5. Pickering: the closest of the five to Toronto
What it is like: Pickering borders Toronto on the east and had about 99,200 people in 2021. Pickering GO connects by an enclosed pedestrian bridge over Highway 401 to the downtown area around Pickering Town Centre, where the city has planned new condo development. Highway 407 runs through the middle of the city.
What the numbers say: 27.3 days on average. Pickering had the highest detached median of the five at $1,039,999, and those homes averaged 26 days. Semis averaged 19 days.
What sellers should check: detached prices fell 8.0%, but sales were flat. Buyers are still there at the right number.
Why do homes sell faster in Durham Region?
I cannot prove the cause from sales data alone, but a few verified facts help explain it. Detached medians in Oshawa ($730,000), Clarington ($820,000), Ajax ($925,000) and Whitby ($977,000) were well below Mississauga ($1,225,000), Vaughan ($1,415,000) or Oakville ($1,625,000). Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa each have a Lakeshore East GO station with service to Union. And since 1 June 2025, the provincially run section of Highway 407, which runs east from Brock Road in Pickering through Whitby, Oshawa and Clarington, has been toll-free. That makes daily driving from Durham cheaper than it was.
Inside Toronto, a few central districts were even faster for detached homes. In 2026, detached homes averaged 13 days in C10 (Mount Pleasant East and West) and 14 days in both W02 (High Park North, the Junction and Bloor West Village) and E01 (North and South Riverdale, Greenwood-Coxwell and Blake-Jones). Those are small, high-priced markets with few listings.
Days on market is an average, not a promise. In every one of these cities I have seen homes sell in under a week and others sit for two months. The difference is almost always price and preparation. If you list within a few percent of what recent comparable homes actually sold for, and the home is clean, repaired and well photographed, you are likely to sell near the local average or faster. If you list high to “test the market”, you usually end up selling for less, later.
How can you sell your house faster in the GTA?
- Price from sold data, not listings. Ask for sold prices of similar homes from the last 90 days, plus how long each took.
- Fix the small things first. Paint, lighting, leaky taps and a deep clean cost little and remove buyer objections. See whether home staging is worth it for your property.
- Get a pre-listing inspection on an older home so surprises do not kill a conditional deal.
- Be flexible on closing dates. A wide closing window makes your home work for more buyers.
- Know your costs. Commission, legal fees and mortgage penalties all affect your bottom line. Here is what it costs to sell a house in Ontario.
If your home has been listed well past your city’s average, do not just relist it to make the days-on-market number look new. TRREB’s property days on market tracks the full history during the original listing contract, and buyers’ agents can see it. Change the price or the presentation instead. My guide to a home that is not selling explains your options under the listing agreement.
What to do next
- Find your city’s average days on market in the table above and use it to set your timeline.
- Get a value estimate based on recent sold homes, not asking prices.
- Walk through your home with a repair list and fix what a buyer would notice in the first minute.
- Decide on your closing window and your lowest acceptable price before you list.
- Book a call with me for a comparable-sales review of your street.
Need help with this? Talk to me.
I’m Jatin Dua, Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, and I’m the best agent to do this kind of work for you in Toronto and across the GTA. Over $100 million in GTA sales and 100+ families helped sell. Feel free to contact me any time: call or text 833-330-1925 or email [email protected].
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to sell a house in the GTA in 2026?
About three to five weeks on average. From January to October 2026, the sales-weighted average days on market was 31.5 in the City of Toronto, about 24 days in Whitby and Ajax, and 48.6 in King Township. These figures count days on the market until a firm sale, not the closing period that follows. Source: TRREB MLS data via REALM.
Which city in the GTA sells houses the fastest?
Whitby sold homes fastest among GTA municipalities outside Toronto in 2026, at an average of 24.2 days on market across all home types from January to October. Ajax was close behind at 24.7 days, followed by Clarington, Oshawa and Pickering. All five fastest cities are in Durham Region.
How long does it take to sell a house in Toronto?
In the City of Toronto, homes sold in an average of 31.5 days from January to October 2026, across all home types. That is slower than 29.3 days in 2025 and 24.6 days in 2024. Some central districts were much faster for detached homes, such as C10 at 13 days and W02 and E01 at 14 days.
What is the average days on market in the GTA right now?
TRREB reported an average of 34 listing days on market and 51 property days on market across its market area in September 2026. Listing days count only the final listing. Property days count every listing of the same home during the original listing contract, so the higher number shows the effect of relisting.
Are houses selling slower in the GTA in 2026?
Yes. Every one of the five fastest GTA cities took longer to sell homes in 2026 than in 2025. Whitby rose from 21.6 to 24.2 days and Oshawa from 22.8 to 27.1. TRREB said buyers were in a holding pattern in September 2026, when GTA sales were down 9% from a year earlier.
How long does it take to sell a house in Durham Region?
Durham Region was the fastest part of the GTA in 2026. From January to October, homes sold in an average of 24.2 days in Whitby, 24.7 in Ajax, 25.6 in Clarington, 27.1 in Oshawa and 27.3 in Pickering. Detached homes in Whitby and Ajax averaged 23 days. Condo apartments were slower in every Durham city.
How long does it take to sell a condo in the GTA?
Condo apartments sold more slowly than houses in most GTA cities in 2026. From January to October, they averaged 34 days in Whitby, 42 in Mississauga, 51 in Oshawa and 53 in Brampton. Downtown Toronto (C01) averaged 37 days. Expect a condo sale to take longer than a detached home in the same city.
Why is my house not selling in the GTA?
The most common reason is price. In 2026, GTA homes that sold took about 24 to 49 days on average depending on the city, so a home sitting well beyond that is usually priced above what recent comparable homes sold for. Condition, poor photos and a tight closing window are the next most common reasons.
Does Highway 407 East still have tolls in 2026?
No. The provincially operated section of Highway 407 east of Brock Road in Pickering became toll-free on 1 June 2025. That section runs east through Whitby, Oshawa and Clarington. The privately run 407 ETR west of Brock Road still charges tolls, as of November 2026.
Sources
- TRREB Market Watch, September 2026
- Wikipedia: Whitby, Ontario
- Wikipedia: Ajax, Ontario
- Wikipedia: Clarington
- Wikipedia: Oshawa
- Wikipedia: Pickering, Ontario
- Wikipedia: Ontario Highway 407
- TRREB Community Housing Market Report, Toronto Central, Q2 2026
Related reading
- Top 5 Best Neighbourhoods to Live in Mississauga in 2027
- Top 5 Best Neighbourhoods to Live in Brampton in 2027
- Top 5 Best Neighbourhoods to Live in Markham in 2027
- Top 5 Best Neighbourhoods to Live in Oakville in 2027
About the author — Jatin Dua, Toronto and GTA real estate broker
I am Jatin Dua, Broker of Record and co-founder of RE/MAX Quantum Realty Inc., Brokerage, Unit 101, 799 The Queensway, Toronto. I work with buyers and sellers across Toronto and the GTA and have helped more than 100 families sell. Four-plus years of active GTA transactions and over $100 million in sales volume.
Reach me at [email protected] or 833-330-1925, or book a call.