Market Monday Update

August 2026 | Stratford, Perth County, Woolwich & Wellesley

Monthly Snapshot & Eight-Month Cumulative Analysis

Eight months of signal

Sales fell in all three markets in August, both against July and against the same month last year. That is the plain reading, and it deserves to be said before anything else.

It also needs context. August is the quietest month of the year in this part of Ontario, and in several property categories the transaction counts have dropped low enough that a single month tells you almost nothing. Two townhome sales one month and none the next is not a trend. It is a coincidence of timing.

So the January-to-August comparison is where this report does its real work. Eight months of transactions absorbs the noise a single month creates. Read the monthly tables for what they are, a snapshot of the quietest month of the year, and then let the cumulative figures carry the conclusion.

On that eight-month view the picture is far steadier than August alone suggests. Stratford has sold one more home than it had by this point last year, at pricing 3.7% softer. Perth County is ahead on volume with pricing essentially unchanged. Woolwich and Wellesley carries the largest adjustment of the three, down 7.6% on volume and 9.6% on price, and it is also the market where August brought the first genuinely encouraging month of the year.

Stratford: A genuine softening

28 sales in August, down from 38 in July and down from 38 in August last year. A 26.3% decline on both comparisons, and the steepest year-over-year drop we have reported in Stratford this year.

The average sale price came in at $585,500, down 5.4% from July and down 13.7% from last August's $678,116. The median tells a gentler story at $542,000, down 3.7% year-over-year against the average's 13.7%. That gap matters: when the average falls four times faster than the median, the decline is concentrated at the top of the market rather than spread across it. Fewer expensive homes sold, and the typical transaction moved far less than the headline suggests.

The list-to-sell ratio held at 98%, unchanged from last August. Homes that sold, sold close to asking. In a month this quiet, that is the more useful number.

Detached: where the softening shows

22 detached homes sold at an average of $622,182, against 27 at $729,644 last August. Volume down 18.5% and pricing down 14.7%. The detached median of $610,750 against $662,500 confirms the direction, so this is a real easing in the segment rather than a mix effect.

Across the full quarter, 85 detached homes sold against 99 last summer. The trend is consistent, which is what separates it from a one-month anomaly.

The smaller segments

Semi-detached recorded 4 sales at $481,250, against 6 at $607,333 a year ago. Condos fell from 3 sales to 2, with the average down 9.7%. No townhomes sold at all, against 2 at an average of $562,000 last August and 2 at $541,000 in July.

At these volumes percentage changes carry little meaning. Four sales against six is two houses. I report the figures because they are the figures, and the cumulative table is where these segments become readable.

Stratford: July vs. August 2026

Stratford: August 2026 vs. August 2025

Stratford: January to August

Volume level with last year (304 vs. 303), with average pricing down 3.7%. June and July 2025 totals are derived from property-type detail.

This is the number to hold on to. Across eight months Stratford has sold one more home than it had by this point last year, at pricing 3.7% softer. August was a poor month and the summer quarter was genuinely slower, down 13.6% on volume against last summer. But the year as a whole has been steady, and a single quiet August does not undo it.

The gap between those two readings is the useful part. A three-month view says this market has cooled sharply; an eight-month view says it is level. Both are true. The eight-month view is the one to price against, and the three-month view is the one to watch for confirmation over the fall.

Perth County: The steady one

36 sales in August, down from 48 in July and from 43 last August. Volume off 25.0% on the month and 16.3% on the year. And yet the average price rose to $673,550, up 2.6% from July. Fewer homes changing hands at a higher average always deserves an explanation.

Here it is. August included the sale of a farm at $3.2 million and, at the other end of the range, a property at $165,000. In a month of 36 transactions, a single $3.2 million sale lifts the average by roughly $72,000 on its own. Strip it out and the month sits below July rather than above it.

The median is the honest number in a month like this, and the median was $585,000, up 5.4% from July and down just 1.7% from last August. The list-to-sell ratio stayed at 98% for a third consecutive month. Buyers and sellers are meeting close to asking, consistently, month after month.

Segment detail

Detached sales came in at 26 at an average of $764,654, against 35 at $705,103 last August. That 8.4% price gain is the farm sale at work, though the detached median of $625,000 against last year's $580,000 suggests genuine underlying strength as well. The two effects are difficult to separate in a single month.

Semi-detached held level on volume at 4 sales, with pricing down 6.0% year-over-year. One townhome sold at $585,000. Condos recorded 5 sales at an average of $289,980, well below last August's $459,450, and this segment remains the softest in the county.

Perth County: July vs. August 2026

These figures exclude Stratford, which is reported separately above.

Perth County: August 2026 vs. August 2025

August 2026 included a $3.2M farm sale and a $165,000 sale at the low end of the range. Both are reflected in the average price above.

Perth County: January to August

Volume up 2.0% year-over-year. Cumulative average pricing is calculated from property-type detail for the January to May period, as the summary figure on file is inconsistent with the monthly averages recorded since.

Perth County is the steadiest of the three markets on every measure. Volume is ahead of last year across eight months and ahead across the summer quarter as well. Pricing sits within half a percentage point of last year, and the list-to-sell ratio has held at 98% for three consecutive months. Very little has changed here, and very little needs to.

Woolwich and Wellesley: Fewer sales, firmer prices

21 sales in August, down from 29 in July and from 32 last August. A 34.4% year-over-year decline, the sharpest of the three markets. On volume this was the quietest month of the year in these two townships.

On price it was the most encouraging month of the year. The average came in at $960,024, up 16.7% from July and up 0.3% from last August. The median rose further still, $875,000 against $800,500 a year ago, a gain of 9.3%. After months of reporting a widening price gap in this market, August closed level on the average and ahead on the median.

The list-to-sell ratio also improved, 97.1% against 96.1% last August. Fewer homes are selling, but the ones that sell are holding their value and closing nearer to asking than they were a year ago.

Detached: the segment that matters most

18 detached sales at an average of $1,014,889, against 25 at $1,035,212 last August. Pricing down just 2.0%, and the detached median actually rose to $891,000 from $875,000, up 1.8%.

A rising median alongside a nearly flat average, in the segment that makes up roughly 85% of transactions here, is the clearest evidence yet that detached values in these townships have stopped falling. Volume is well down and inventory continues to give buyers choice, but the properties selling are holding their price.

The smaller segments

One semi-detached sale at $590,000, against 3 at $728,267 last August. Two townhome sales at $651,250, against 4 at $641,625, so pricing up 1.5% on a very small base. No condo sales in either August.

A single semi-detached transaction describes one house. The cumulative figures below carry the weight for these segments.

Woolwich and Wellesley: July vs. August 2026

Woolwich and Wellesley: August 2026 vs. August 2025

Woolwich and Wellesley: January to August

Volume down 7.6% year-over-year, with average pricing down 9.6%.

Across eight months this market carries the largest adjustment of the three, close to 10% on price and 7.6% on volume. That is the correction these townships have been working through since early in the year, and it is real.

August is the first month to break the pattern, closing level with last year on the average and 9.3% ahead on the median. One month is not a turn. A second month in the same direction would make it one worth naming.

What eight months tells us

Sales are down. That is true in every market in August, on both the monthly and the yearly comparison, and it is the honest headline for the month. The eight-month record tells a steadier story, and the distance between the two is the most useful thing in this report.

Across the year, volume is close to level

Stratford has sold 304 homes against 303 by this point last year. Perth County is up 2.0% at 312 against 306. Woolwich and Wellesley is down 7.6%, 208 against 225, the only market with a meaningful decline. Two of the three have matched last year's pace across eight months, which is not what a single August would lead you to expect.

The summer quarter was genuinely slower

Set against that steadiness, June through August was soft: Stratford down 13.6% on volume, Woolwich and Wellesley down 16.2%, with only Perth County ahead at 3.2%. Both readings are accurate. The year has been level; the summer was slow. September and October will tell us which of the two describes the autumn.

Prices have eased modestly

Stratford is down 3.7% across eight months and Woolwich and Wellesley 9.6%. Perth County is down half a percentage point. In each market the price adjustment is smaller than the swing in monthly activity, which suggests sellers are choosing not to list rather than cutting to move.

Medians are holding better than averages

Stratford's August median fell 3.7% while its average fell 13.7%. Woolwich and Wellesley's median rose 9.3% while its average was flat. In both markets the middle of the market is steadier than the headline average suggests, and the averages are being moved by which homes happened to close.

List-to-sell ratios remain the steadiest signal

Stratford held at 98%, Perth County at 98% for a third consecutive month, and Woolwich and Wellesley improved to 97.1% from 96.1% last August. Across all three markets, homes priced to current conditions are selling close to asking, in the quietest month of the year. That combination, low volume alongside strong ratios, describes buyers who are selective rather than absent.

Condos remain the softest segment

Stratford condo pricing fell 26.0% from July and Perth County condos sold at an average of $289,980, down 36.9% from last August. Buyers who can reach freehold pricing continue to choose it. For condo sellers this means pricing to today rather than to 2025. For condo buyers it means the value is real.

For sellers

Fewer buyers were active in August than a year ago, and that is the main reason homes sat. It is not a reflection on your property. What the list-to-sell ratios tell us is that the buyers who are out there are still paying close to asking when a home is priced to current conditions.

In Stratford, prices have eased about 7% across the summer and the market has genuinely cooled. Pricing to last spring's expectations will cost you weeks. In Woolwich and Wellesley the news is better than it has been all year: values held level with last August and the median rose. Sellers there who recalibrated earlier this year are now meeting a market that has stopped moving away from them. In Perth County, pricing is within a point and a half of last summer and volume is ahead. Little has changed, and little needs to.

For buyers

This is the most room buyers have had in some time. Volume is down across two of three markets, inventory is available, and competition in August was the lightest of the year. In Stratford, pricing has come back about 7% across the quarter, which is a real change from a year ago.

In Woolwich and Wellesley the picture is more nuanced. Prices have stopped falling, so the waiting strategy has less to offer than it did in the spring. Buyers who have been holding out for a further correction there may find the window has closed.

The condo segment in both Stratford and Perth County is where the clearest value sits right now, for buyers whose plans suit that kind of home.

Looking ahead

September usually brings the fall market to life after the August lull, and we would expect volume to recover in all three markets. Whether it recovers to last year's level is the question worth watching, particularly in Stratford.

Two things to follow. First, whether Stratford's summer softening carries into the fall or whether the eight-month steadiness reasserts itself. Second, whether Woolwich and Wellesley's price stabilization holds. August gave us the first month this year where that market closed level with last year on price and ahead on the median. A second month in the same direction would make it a trend.

Questions about what this means for your home or your next move? I am here to talk it through.

Data sources

Stratford and Perth County statistics were compiled from data published by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). Woolwich and Wellesley statistics were compiled from data published by the Cornerstone Association of REALTORS®. Quarterly figures are calculated from monthly sales and are weighted by transaction count.

Disclaimer: Market information and statistics referenced herein have been compiled from data published by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board and the Cornerstone Association of REALTORS® and other sources deemed reliable. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the information is provided for general informational purposes only and is not guaranteed. Figures may be subject to revisions, reporting delays, or data-entry errors, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. This communication is not intended to cause or induce a breach of an existing agency agreement. We do not solicit properties that are currently listed for sale or already under contract with another brokerage.