The short version
- Waterloo Region home sales fell 18.9% month-over-month in August and were down 10.9% from a year earlier, according to the Cornerstone Association of REALTORS.
- The Kitchener-Waterloo benchmark price was $628,300 in August, down 0.8% from July and 6.0% lower than a year ago.
- Cambridge moved the other way: its benchmark price rose 0.7% month-over-month to $666,400, though it was still down 4.2% year-over-year.
- New listings fell 24.5% month-over-month, and the region carried 3.5 months of supply at the end of August — still well above its ten-year average for this time of year.
- Cornerstone's own read is that Waterloo Region is not one market: a household in Cambridge is looking at different conditions than one in Kitchener-Waterloo, block by block.
What Cornerstone Reported
The Cornerstone Association of REALTORS, the board covering Waterloo Region since its 2024 merger, released its August figures showing a market still cooling — but cooling unevenly depending on which part of the region you're looking at.
According to Cornerstone's own statistics page, home sales across Waterloo Region fell 18.9% from July to August, and were down 10.9% compared with August 2025. New listings dropped even further — 24.5% month-over-month and 14.8% year-over-year — which is why the overall inventory picture did not worsen as much as the sales drop alone would suggest.
“Waterloo Region's market continued to reflect the broader trend of cautious buyer activity,” Cornerstone CEO Bill Duce said in the board's release, “while the pullback in both sales and listings may seem concerning on the surface, Waterloo Region remains the tightest market across our coverage area, yet buyers still have more selection than in previous years.”
One Region, Two Directions
The headline number hides a split Cornerstone called out directly. In Kitchener-Waterloo, the MLS Home Price Index benchmark was $628,300 in August — down 0.8% from July and 6.0% below where it sat a year earlier. Cambridge moved the opposite way month-over-month: its benchmark rose 0.7% to $666,400, though it too remained down year-over-year, by 4.2%.
Duce's own words: “These differences are a good reminder that Waterloo Region is not a single market, and connecting with a local REALTOR who knows your community and neighbourhood is the best way to navigate what this market means for you specifically.” For a buyer or a seller, that is the practical takeaway — a benchmark for the region as a whole tells you less than it used to about what is actually happening on a given street.
It is also worth noting the two figures are moving from different starting points. Cambridge's benchmark sits roughly $38,000 above Kitchener-Waterloo's, so a smaller percentage decline there still represents real dollars, just fewer of them relative to the price.
Supply Is Still Loose, Even With Fewer New Listings
The region carried 3.5 months of supply of all property types at the end of August, 2.8% lower than a year earlier — supply tightened slightly, but from a level that was already loose. For context, the region's own ten-year average for supply runs closer to 1.9 months, which is the number worth holding in mind: even after a year of improvement, Waterloo Region has roughly double the inventory a balanced, seller-favouring market would typically carry.
That combination — fewer new listings, but still well above the historical inventory norm — is what a market looks like when it is stabilizing from a buyer's position rather than swinging back toward sellers. Fewer new listings slow the slide in prices without reversing it.
What This Means If You're Buying or Selling This Fall
If you're shopping in Kitchener-Waterloo specifically, the six-month price trend is still working in a buyer's favour, and a longer decision window is less likely to cost you the property the way it would have two years ago. Cambridge's small monthly uptick is one month of data, not a trend reversal — worth watching before reading much into it.
If you're selling, the region-wide inventory level means pricing realistically against Cornerstone's own benchmark for your specific area, not the regional average, matters more than usual. A Cambridge listing priced off a Kitchener-Waterloo comparable, or the reverse, is starting from the wrong number in either direction.
Either way, what you can actually afford to carry — on a purchase, a renewal, or a move within the region — comes down to your own numbers against current lending terms, not the regional average. Our mortgage calculators run purchase, affordability and closing costs specific to your situation, and if you're weighing a move within the region, Next Home Hub covers porting, bridge financing and the buy-versus-sell-first decision directly.
Nearly thirty years in Canadian financial services, based in Waterloo Region and working across Ontario. Most people are handed a product — you deserve a plan.
Figures cited are drawn from the Cornerstone Association of REALTORS' published August 2026 statistics and describe regional aggregates, not any individual property. Everything here is general information only, illustrative, and subject to full qualification, lender approval and final terms.
Sources: Cornerstone Association of REALTORS — Waterloo Region statistics, via CREA