Sarnia-Lambton Association of REALTORS®

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Sarnia-Lambton Association of REALTORS® totaled 136 units in August 2026. This was a moderate decrease of 4.2% (six sales) from August 2025.

Home sales were 4.6% above the five-year average and 10.3% below the 10-year average for the month of August.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 1,006 units over the first eight months of the year, declining by 8.5% from the same period in 2025.

“August MLS® home sales held steady from July and landed in line with the five-year average for the month, even as activity remained softer than a year ago. The bigger story continues to be supply. New listings remained elevated for this time of year, and with new homes coming to market at more than twice the pace of sales, active inventory climbed for the eighth consecutive month,” said Jeremy Guerette, President of the Sarnia-Lambton Association of REALTORS®. “That growing selection continues to give buyers the advantage, with inventory now sitting well above historical norms. Prices have responded gradually, with the MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark Price slipping below $490,000 for the first time since March and edging lower compared to August 2025. Buyer-friendly conditions have defined much of 2026 and August reinforced that trend. With more choice and less urgency in the market, buyers have time to be selective, while sellers need to be increasingly strategic about pricing and presentation.”

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends far more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures. The overall MLS® HPI composite/single-family benchmark price was $489,900 in August 2026, a small reduction of 2.6% compared to August 2025.

The average price of homes sold in August 2026 was $535,819, a modest gain of 2.4% from August 2025.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $528,783, down by 1.9% from the first eight months of 2025.

The dollar value of all home sales in August 2026 was $72.9 million, a minor decrease of 1.9% from the same month in 2025.

The number of new listings rose 23.8% from August 2025. There were 317 new residential listings in August 2026. This was the largest number of new listings added in the month of August in more than 35 years.

New listings were 18.2% above the five-year average and 35.1% above the 10-year average for the month of August.

Active residential listings numbered 692 units on the market at the end of August, increasing by 6.8% from the end of August 2025. Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of August in more than a decade.

Active listings were 25.6% above the five-year average and 75.4% above the 10-year average for the month of August.

Months of inventory numbered 5.1 at the end of August 2026, up from the 4.6 months recorded at the end of August 2025 and above the long-run average of 2.8 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.