Active listings in Parry Sound averaged 345 in Q3 2026. That's 46 percent above the 8‑year Q3 average of 236, and the second‑highest third quarter in our data. Only 2019 was higher, at 353. July's 356 was the second‑highest single month we've ever recorded, three listings shy of July 2019. It's also the fourth summer in a row that this number has gone up.

New listings came in at 318, up 16 percent on last year and, again, second only to 2019. Sell‑through is where the strain shows: 147 sales against 318 new listings is 46 percent, up from 44 percent last year but well short of the 59 percent 8‑year Q3 average.

Sales are the encouraging part, with a catch. 147 waterfront cottages sold this quarter, up 23 percent on last year's 120. But the 8‑year Q3 average is 161, so we're still 8 percent short of normal. That tells you buyers are coming back. It doesn't tell you they've come all the way back, and sellers are bringing far more listings to meet them than usual.

The Listings

Four summers of climbing, and a near‑record this year

Here's active listings for every third quarter since 2018, the earliest year with complete multi‑board coverage in Parry Sound.

In 2022 the Q3 average was 150. It has gone up every summer since: 186, then 277, then 320, and now 345. That's eight listings short of the 2019 peak.

Months of inventory tells a gentler story. At 7.4 it's down 12 percent from last year's 8.4 and 19 percent from Q2's 9.1, because more cottages are selling. It's still 36 percent above the 8‑year norm of 5.4.

What's Not Selling

Fewer than half of new listings are selling

For every 100 new listings in Q3, 46 sold, up from 44 a year ago and below the 59 on the 8‑year average. The chart below tracks it over a rolling 12 months, which smooths out the seasonal swing.

Over the 12 months to September 2026, 319 cottages sold against 922 new listings, a sell‑through of 34.6 percent. A year ago it was 33.0 percent, and in 2018 and 2019 it averaged about 50 percent. It peaked at 95 percent in March 2021, when buyers cleared nearly everything that came to market, fell back through 2022 and 2023, and has stayed between 31 and 38 percent since September 2024. This month’s reading is a little above the low of 30.9 percent in July 2025. For every 100 new listings over the past year, about 35 sold. Parry Sound is the one region we cover where that number is ticking up.

Year to Date

Nine months, same shape

One quarter is a data point. Year to date is a trend, and I'd rather lean on it. Active listings have averaged 249 through September, 47 percent above the 8‑year YTD norm of 170 and up 12 percent on last year. New listings are at 848, up 11 percent and 20 percent above the norm. Sell‑through is 32.2 percent, with 273 sales against 848 new listings, up from 30.1 percent a year ago and well below the 8‑year YTD norm of 47.5 percent. The average month has carried 10.2 months of inventory against a long‑run 6.9.

Sales are where 2026 looks better against last year than against history. We're at 273 so far, up 19 percent on last year's 230, but still 18 percent below the 8‑year YTD average of 334. Up on last year, behind the long run. Both are true.

Demand

Sales are up on last year, and still short of normal

Q3 2026 closed at 147 waterfront sales across the Parry Sound area, all price ranges. July came in at 59, August at 49 and September at 39, all three confirmed from the multi‑board total.

Against Q3 2025's 120, that's up 23 percent. Against the 8‑year average of 161, it's 8 percent below. Sales peaked in July and eased every month after, to 39 in September, which is the usual seasonal fade.

Eight Years Out

Eight years of context: a market still resetting, not stabilising

A single quarter, or even nine months, doesn't tell you much without a longer frame. Here are annual cottage sales since 2018.

Unlike Muskoka, Parry Sound hasn't settled into a clean post‑pandemic band. After 2021's 562, sales dropped to 323 in 2022 and 257 in 2023, bounced to 299 in 2024 and slipped to 276 in 2025. The 8‑year average of 402 sits above every one of those four years.

Our trailing twelve months, October 2025 through September 2026, sits at 319, up 17 percent from the prior twelve months' 273. That's the clearest sign yet that sales are turning up off the 2023 low. It's also still 21 percent below the 8‑year average.

On Price

The median rose faster than the average

The Q3 average sale price was approximately $1.08 million, up 9 percent from $0.99 million in Q3 2025. The Q3 median was approximately $823,000, up 12 percent from $737,000. When the median rises faster than the average, the lift is coming from the middle of the market, not from a few big sales at the top. That's a broader gain than the average alone would suggest.

The median ran ahead of last year in every month of the quarter: $825,000 against $690,000 in July, $852,500 against $800,000 in August, and $790,000 against $720,000 in September. Sale to list ratio was 94.9 percent, up about a point from Q3 2025's 93.8 and still about 2 points below the 8‑year norm.

What This Means

What this means right now