Waterloo Region in October: Sales Down 14.5%, Cambridge Prices Slip Further

What Cornerstone reported for October

Fewer homes sold in Waterloo Region in October, fewer were listed, and benchmark prices came down in both Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge. The board still describes the region as its tightest market.

According to Cornerstone Association of REALTORS, home sales in Waterloo Region declined 14.5% from a year earlier, with 489 sales recorded in October 2026. New listings fell 17.3% over the same period, to 1,025.

Bill Duce, Cornerstone's CEO, said that despite the slowdown, Waterloo Region continued to have the tightest supply across Cornerstone's major market areas, at 3.7 months. Cornerstone covers more than Waterloo Region (Hamilton and Niagara North are among its other areas), which is why one part of it can be called the tightest.

Working back from the board's percentages, our own arithmetic puts October 2025 at roughly 572 sales and 1,239 new listings. Those are estimates derived from the published declines, not figures the board stated.

Supply barely moved while sales fell

Months of supply asks how long the current stock of homes would take to sell at the recent pace of sales, if nothing new were listed. Cornerstone put it at 3.7 months for all property types at the end of October, down 5.1% from October 2025. Backing into last year's figure, that implies about 3.9 months a year ago.

In our September look the figure was 3.8 months. A move from 3.8 to 3.7 is small, and it came with fewer sales and fewer new listings at the same time. When both sides of the market thin out together, the ratio can hold steady even though activity has dropped. It is a sign of a quiet market, not a shift in who holds the advantage.

Two cities, two price indexes

Cornerstone's MLS Home Price Index tracks a typical home rather than whatever happened to sell that month. In Kitchener-Waterloo it was $624,600 in October 2026, down 4.7% from a year earlier. In Cambridge it was $644,400, down 6.3%.

Set against the September figures in our earlier article ($630,200 and $662,700), our arithmetic gives these moves:

• Kitchener-Waterloo: $624,600, about 0.9% lower than September and 4.7% lower than a year ago.
• Cambridge: $644,400, about 2.8% lower than September and 6.3% lower than a year ago.
• The gap between them: about $19,800, down from about $32,500 a month earlier.

Duce noted that conditions varied across the region. One month is a data point, not a trend, and a larger one-month move in Cambridge does not by itself say where it goes next.

What a lower benchmark means for a mortgage

A falling benchmark does not change what you owe. It changes the ratio between what you owe and what the home would currently be worth, which lenders call loan-to-value.

Here is an illustration using only the board's percentages. Working back from a 4.7% decline, a Kitchener-Waterloo home sitting at the benchmark a year ago was around $655,400. A buyer who put 20% down on that would have borrowed about $524,300. Against today's $624,600 benchmark, and before counting any payments of principal, that balance is roughly 84% of value instead of 80%.

It is a worked example, not a statement about any home. A benchmark is not an appraisal, your balance will have come down since you bought, and the lender's own valuation is what counts. But the direction of the arithmetic matters in three situations: a refinance, a home equity line, or a switch to a new lender at renewal, because those are the moments a lender asks what the property is worth. A straight renewal with your current lender is a different case, which we cover in our piece on switching lenders.

If you are buying, the same softness cuts the other way. The purchase price is negotiated against comparable sales and the lender will appraise it; our appraisal explainer covers what happens when the two disagree.

What to do with a number like this

Regional statistics start a conversation; they do not settle one. Cornerstone itself cautions that its figures help identify long-term trends but should not be read as showing that a specific property has increased or decreased in value.

• Buying: get a pre-approval based on your real documents, then compare the monthly payment at several purchase prices in our mortgage calculators.
• Renewing: check your balance and your lender's timeline early. Our 120-day renewal window guide sets out the sequence.
• Owning and wondering: ask for a valuation opinion before assuming your equity from a regional index.

If you are in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge or the surrounding townships, our Waterloo Region page explains how we work with buyers and owners here.