As summer ends and the fall market approaches, many Markham buyers are asking the same question. Is fall a good time to buy? In 2026 the answer is a qualified yes, and the qualifications deserve as much attention as the answer.
Michael John Lau, top real estate agent in Markham Ontario, sets out both sides.
The Fall Market Dynamics
Fall is one of the two strongest seasons in real estate alongside spring, and it offers specific dynamics that tend to benefit buyers.
New inventory arrives. After the summer slowdown, sellers who waited list their homes. The post-Labour Day wave gives buyers fresh choice.
Sellers are often motivated. Those listing in fall frequently want to transact before the year-end holiday slowdown, which can create negotiating room.
Activity is serious. Families settle after summer and both sides engage in earnest. Fall browsing tends to convert to fall transactions.
Why Fall 2026 Specifically
Beyond the seasonal pattern, the specific conditions of fall 2026 favour buyers. Pricing has adjusted meaningfully from a year ago. Inventory is elevated across property types, with roughly 509 houses, 374 condos, and 320 townhouses recently listed in Markham, giving buyers real choice and negotiating leverage. Conditions such as financing, inspection, and even sale-of-property terms are being accepted in a way they were not during the frenzied years. And the Bank of Canada has held at 2.25 per cent through six consecutive decisions, providing a stable rate environment buyers can plan around.
Neeraj Moolchandani on Buyers Who Are Still Waiting
Neeraj Moolchandani, REALTOR® at Kaizen Real Estate, hears the same sentence every fall: we will wait and see what happens in the spring. His response is to ask what specifically would need to happen for the buyer to feel ready, because most people who say this cannot answer it. A wait without a defined trigger is not a strategy, it is a deferral, and it tends to repeat itself the following spring.
Neeraj is equally clear that waiting is sometimes the correct call. A buyer whose employment is uncertain, whose down payment is not yet assembled, or who has not resolved a household disagreement about location should not be pushed into a purchase by market conditions. His test is simple: if your reason for waiting is personal readiness, wait and fix it. If your reason is trying to time the bottom, understand that almost nobody does, including professionals.
The Honest Case for Waiting
Any agent telling you conditions are perfect is selling. The arguments on the other side deserve stating.
Argument for Waiting | How Much Weight It Deserves |
|---|---|
Prices could fall further | Possible. Forecasters expect stabilization, but forecasts are estimates and Ontario has been the slowest province to turn. |
Rates could fall in 2027 | Some banks project increases rather than cuts in 2027. The consensus is a hold, not relief. |
More inventory may arrive | Reasonable in the near term, though condo starts at 1996 lows point to constrained supply further out. |
Personal circumstances are unsettled | The strongest argument on this list. Employment uncertainty or an unassembled deposit is a genuine reason to wait. |
What the Real Risk of Waiting Is
The risk of waiting is generally not that prices collapse and you miss a bottom. It is subtler than that. The favourable conditions currently available, the abundant choice, the negotiating leverage, the willingness of sellers to accept conditions, tend to erode before prices visibly move. By the time recovery is obvious in the price data, the buyer-friendly terms have usually already gone.
That is the actual trade a waiting buyer is making. Not price versus price, but terms and choice versus a possible small price improvement.
Decide Deliberately, Not by Default
Waiting with a reason is strategy. Waiting without one is just delay. Book a private consultation with the Kaizen Real Estate Team.
How to Buy Well This Fall
Get pre-approved and secure a rate hold. A current pre-approval and a rate hold protect you against movement while letting you act decisively.
Be clear on your criteria. Community, catchment, property type, and non-negotiables. Clarity is what lets you recognize the right home quickly.
Expect competition where it exists. The broad market favours buyers, but strong school catchments and well-priced quality homes still attract multiple interest.
Get professional guidance. Michael John Lau, top real estate agent in Markham Ontario, helps buyers judge whether their reason for acting or waiting is the right one for their circumstances.