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Recently in 2026, the benchmark price for a two-storey detached home in Burlington was $1.3 million. I use that number, and the trend line behind it, as much as any other figure when I sit down with a seller to set a list price. It doesn’t tell us what your specific home is worth. It tells us which direction the market is moving, and that changes how we should price on day one.
What the Benchmark Price Tells Us
When I determine value, I look at four things. Average and median sale prices. Months of inventory. Recent comparable sales. And the benchmark price.
The first three tell us where the market has been. The benchmark price shows us the trend. It tracks the value of a typical home with a standard set of features in a specific area. In this video we’re looking specifically at two-storey detached homes in Burlington.
What Chasing the Market Looks Like
Say your home is worth $1 million in August 2026, and we list it at $1 million. If the benchmark trend is heading down, your price stays fixed while the market moves underneath it.
By the end of week one, you are slightly overpriced. By the end of week two, more so. By the end of week three, more again, and that is usually when the first price reduction happens. Most sellers make a small one, not the full amount the market has moved. Two more weeks go by, the benchmark keeps falling, and the home is still sitting slightly above where it should be.
Several reductions later, buyers have noticed the pattern. They sit patiently, and my god are buyer’s ever patient today, they wait for you to find the bottom.
Pricing for Where the Market Will Be
If your home is worth $1 million today and homes in your segment are taking around 30 days to sell, the real question is where the market will be 30 days from now. There is no crystal ball. But the benchmark trend gives us real support for answering that question.
If the trend is heading down, we price sharply out of the gate. That way, at the end of week one and week two, you are not overpriced and you are not sitting on the market while buyers watch.
Perfect example in Southwest Oakville Right Now
Around the $3 million mark in Southwest Oakville, a large number of listings went to market at nearly $4 million and have been reducing their way down all year. Their true value is closer to $3 or $3.3 million. Each of those reductions has cost those sellers time on the market, and buyers have been watching every one of them.
I’m sharing this because the decision that matters most happens before the sign goes up. If you’re thinking about selling and want to see where the trend sits for your home type and area, I’m happy to walk you through it.
Price It Right and Show It Well™
Andrew Mclellan
