Sales-to-new-listings ratio
Also called SNLR, sales to listings ratio
The sales-to-new-listings ratio is the number of homes sold in a period divided by the number newly listed for sale in it, as a percentage. It is the most used single measure of whether a housing market favours buyers or sellers.
Formula: sales ÷ new listings × 100
By the HousingPortal.ca team · Data: each board's latest report · Updated
How it is read
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reads a ratio below 40% as a buyer's market, 40% to 60% as balanced and above 60% as a seller's market. Below 40%, fewer than two of every five new listings sell in the period and the unsold ones pile up as inventory; above 60%, listings sell faster than they arrive and buyers compete for what is left.
The ratio moves with the season as well as the market: listings surge in spring and dry up in December, so a January figure is not comparable with a May one. Compare a month with the same month a year earlier, or use a 12-month trend.
How the boards publish it
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) prints a 12-month trend, so the GTA figure on our pages is steadier than one month's ratio. Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, the Quebec boards and Greater Vancouver print the month's ratio, or we work it out from the month's sales and new listings they publish.
A month's ratio in a small area says little: ten sales against twelve listings is 83%, a "seller's market" on a handful of transactions. Our pages do not read the ratio in an area with fewer than 30 sales in the month unless the board smooths it.
Sales-to-new-listings ratio in each market now
Across the 11 markets whose boards publish it, it runs from 29% in Greater Vancouver (a buyer's market, below 40%) to 55% in Quebec City (balanced, 40% to 60%).
| Market | Figure | Reading | Note | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Toronto Area | 37.8% | a buyer's market, below 40% | 12-month trend. Above 60% favours sellers, below 40% buyers | September 2026 |
| Waterloo Region | 34% | a buyer's market, below 40% | Sales / new listings this month | September 2026 |
| Hamilton | 36% | a buyer's market, below 40% | Sales / new listings this month | September 2026 |
| Burlington | 38% | a buyer's market, below 40% | Sales / new listings this month | September 2026 |
| Ottawa | 34.5% | a buyer's market, below 40% | Sales / new listings this month (38% a year earlier) | September 2026 |
| Montreal | 41% | balanced, 40% to 60% | Sales / new listings this month | September 2026 |
| Quebec City | 55% | balanced, 40% to 60% | Sales / new listings this month | September 2026 |
| Gatineau | 45% | balanced, 40% to 60% | Sales / new listings this quarter | Q2 2026 |
| Greater Vancouver | 29% | a buyer's market, below 40% | Sales / new listings this month | September 2026 |
| Edmonton | 51% | balanced, 40% to 60% | Sales / new listings this month | September 2026 |
| Calgary | 49% | balanced, 40% to 60% | Sales / new listings 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.
Sales-to-new-listings ratio: Quick Answers
What is a good sales-to-new-listings ratio?
It depends on which side you are on. A buyer wants a low ratio, below 40%, where listings outnumber sales and there is room to negotiate. A seller wants a high one, above 60%, where buyers compete. Between 40% and 60% the market is balanced and prices tend to move with inflation.
Is the sales-to-new-listings ratio the same as the absorption rate?
Not quite. The absorption rate usually means sales divided by the homes for sale at the start of the period (active listings), which Greater Vancouver publishes as the sales-to-active-listings ratio. The sales-to-new-listings ratio divides by the homes listed during the period instead. Both measure demand against supply; they are read on different scales.
Related terms and pages
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