Days on market
Also called DOM, average days on market, listing days on market
Days on market is the number of days between a home being listed and its sale being agreed, averaged over the homes sold in the month. It measures how fast homes are selling, and rises before prices fall.
By the HousingPortal.ca team · Data: each board's latest report · Updated
How it is worked out
Each sold home contributes the days its listing was active before the accepted offer; the board reports the average (some boards the median) across the month's sales. Homes still unsold are not counted, so in a slowing market the figure understates how long a listing takes: the ones that do sell are the ones that sold quickly.
TRREB publishes two figures. Listing days on market (LDOM) count the days of the listing that sold. Property days on market (PDOM) also count the earlier listings of the same home that were cancelled and relisted, a common tactic to reset the clock, so PDOM is the truer measure of how long the home was for sale. Our GTA pages show LDOM with PDOM beside it.
How it is read
Under about 20 days means homes are selling in the first weekend or two, often with competing offers. Thirty to forty days is a normal pace in most Canadian cities. Beyond sixty, buyers have time and sellers are cutting prices to find them.
Houses and condos sell at different speeds, so where a board reports them apart (the Quebec boards) our pages show both.
Days on market in each market now
Across the 10 markets whose boards publish it, it runs from 27 in Ottawa (a normal pace) to 46 in Hamilton (slow, more than six weeks).
| Market | Figure | Reading | Note | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Toronto Area | 34 | a normal pace | 51 days counting re-listings | September 2026 |
| Waterloo Region | 33 | a normal pace | Average, homes sold this month | September 2026 |
| Hamilton | 46 | slow, more than six weeks | Average, homes sold this month | September 2026 |
| Burlington | 34 | a normal pace | Average, homes sold this month | September 2026 |
| Ottawa | 27 | a normal pace | Half of the homes sold sooner, half later | September 2026 |
| Montreal | 41 | a normal pace | Single-family homes, average | September 2026 |
| Quebec City | 32 | a normal pace | Single-family homes, average | September 2026 |
| Gatineau | 27 | a normal pace | Single-family homes, average this quarter | Q2 2026 |
| Edmonton | 44 | a normal pace | Average, homes sold this month | September 2026 |
| Calgary | 44 | a normal pace | Average, homes sold this month | September 2026 |
Each market's latest report, as each board publishes them; the market pages have the area-by-area figures. Markets whose board does not publish this measure are not listed.
Days on market: Quick Answers
What is a good number of days on market?
For a seller, the fewer the better: a home that sells inside two weeks was priced at or below what buyers would pay. For the market as a whole, 20 to 40 days is typical in Canada's large cities; a sustained rise past that is the earliest sign that prices are about to soften, because sellers only cut once a listing has sat.
Why is days on market lower than it seems?
Because it counts only the homes that sold. Listings that expire or are withdrawn, which in a slow market can be a third of them, never enter the average. Relisting a home also restarts the count on most boards; TRREB's property days on market figure is the one that does not reset.
Related terms and pages
The information presented on HousingPortal.ca is intended for general illustrative purposes only. While the information is believed to be reliable, it cannot be guaranteed for accuracy, completeness, or currency. Neither HousingPortal.ca and its employees, nor any other party identified in this guide/report, assumes any liability for the information provided. The views and opinions expressed by the analysts at HousingPortal.ca are their own and should not be considered as investment advice. It is recommended that you seek the advice of a licensed real estate professional before making any decisions regarding real estate investments.