Windsor-Essex Real Estate & Economic Index: September 2026

Windsor-Essex Real Estate & Economic Index: September 2026

September brought fewer home sales and lower year-over-year resale prices across Windsor-Essex, while local employment improved and the number of active job postings increased. This month’s Vanguard Index brings together housing transactions, construction, rents and labour-market data using published statistics and clearly identified geographic boundaries.

Reporting period: September 1–30, 2026, unless otherwise indicated. Data checked: October 20, 2026. Prepared by: The Vanguard Team, Royal LePage Binder.

September 2026: The Windsor-Essex Index

Windsor-Essex home sales and prices

The Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS (WECAR) Residential Stats President’s Report recorded 357 residential sales in September 2026, down 17.55% from September 2025 and 16.59% from August 2026. Its published average sale price was $561,421, down 3.94% year over year, and its median sale price was $505,000, down 4.72%. The board reported 1,140 new residential listings, a 12.78% annual decline. Through September, WECAR’s board-report series recorded 3,640 sales, 5.92% below the same nine months in 2025.

There is a necessary source distinction. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) Windsor-Essex statistics use a separate all-residential reporting series that shows 417 sales and a $544,184 average price in September. Those are not substituted for WECAR’s board-report sales and price figures in this Index. CREA’s separately identified month-end inventory and Home Price Index measures are used where the board report does not publish directly comparable statistics.

Inventory and the MLS Home Price Index

CREA’s September series reported 2,226 active listings at month-end and 5.3 months of inventory, compared with 4.9 months in September 2025. Its MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark was $570,000, 2.4% below September 2025. The single-family benchmark was $618,900, the townhouse benchmark $422,600 and the apartment benchmark $368,500. These are CREA benchmark measures, not WECAR’s average or median selling prices.

Windsor CMA employment and unemployment

The Workforce WindsorEssex September Labour Force Survey report, based on Statistics Canada’s revised Windsor CMA series, recorded 245,300 employed people and a 7.3% unemployment rate. Employment increased by 1,200 from August and by 12,600 from September 2025. The unemployment rate was 7.5% in August 2026 and 10.4% in September 2025. The September labour force total was 264,400 people, and the employment rate was 59.7%.

The revised Windsor CMA includes Windsor and the seven municipalities in Essex County, excluding Pelee Township. These labour statistics should not be treated as City of Windsor-only data or directly compared with the former CMA geographic definition.

Windsor-Essex job postings

According to Workforce WindsorEssex’s September labour-market insights, its local job board recorded 4,378 active postings from 1,520 companies, including 2,882 new postings. Active postings were 26.4% higher than September 2025. Retail Trade accounted for 893 postings, Manufacturing 701, and Health Care and Social Assistance 684. These counts measure activity on the Workforce job board, not every job vacancy in the regional economy.

New housing construction in the Windsor CMA

The CMHC September 2026 housing-starts release recorded 96 actual housing starts in the Windsor CMA, down from 130 in September 2025. September starts included 33 single-detached units and 63 other units. Through the first nine months of 2026, 690 homes had started construction, compared with 871 over the same period in 2025, a 21% decline.

CMHC’s separate six-month trend measure reached an annualized 1,186 starts, up 10% from August’s 1,082. There were 1,303 homes under construction at September month-end, 148 completions during September and 417 approved units awaiting a start. Actual starts and the annualized trend are different statistical measures and should not be added together.

Windsor asking rents in September 2026

The Rentals.ca Windsor listing page identifies September 2026 average asking rents of $1,638 per month across all unit sizes, $1,467 for one-bedroom units and $1,843 for two-bedroom units. These are listing-market averages for the City of Windsor, not the average rent paid by all existing tenants in the Windsor CMA.

The agreed Zumper cross-check is an all-unit median asking rent. The Zumper Windsor page currently identifies its all-bedroom figure as an average, not a median; consequently no September all-unit median has been inserted into this Index. CMHC’s vacancy rates and occupied-market rents remain annual reference measures rather than monthly asking-rent indicators.

What September’s figures mean

For buyers

Sales fell faster than prices in the WECAR board series, while CREA’s separate inventory measure stood at 5.3 months. Buyers may have more time to compare alternatives and assess conditions, although bargaining power still depends on the individual neighbourhood, property type and asking price.

For sellers

WECAR’s 17.55% annual decline in sales and CREA’s lower composite benchmark point to a more selective resale market. Pricing against recent, truly comparable transactions and the properties currently competing for buyers’ attention matters more than relying on last year’s expectations.

For investors

Employment and local job-board activity improved even as resale transactions and year-to-date housing starts declined. That combination is worth monitoring, but it does not establish rental growth or investment returns. Underwrite each property using its actual rent roll, local competing units, realistic expenses, financing and lease restrictions; use citywide asking rents only as a reference point.

Frequently asked questions about the September 2026 Windsor market

What was the average home sale price in Windsor-Essex in September 2026?

WECAR’s Residential Stats President’s Report recorded an average sale price of $561,421. CREA’s distinct all-residential series reported $544,184. This Index uses WECAR first and does not blend the two figures.

How many homes sold in Windsor-Essex in September 2026?

WECAR’s board-report series recorded 357 residential sales, 17.55% below September 2025.

What was the Windsor-Essex MLS HPI benchmark price?

The CREA composite benchmark was $570,000 in September 2026, down 2.4% year over year.

What was Windsor’s unemployment rate in September 2026?

The revised Windsor CMA unemployment rate was 7.3%, compared with 7.5% in August, according to Workforce WindsorEssex’s Statistics Canada-based report.

How many homes started construction in the Windsor CMA?

CMHC counted 96 actual starts during September and 690 starts from January through September 2026.

What were average asking rents in Windsor in September 2026?

Rentals.ca listed $1,467 for one-bedroom units, $1,843 for two-bedroom units and $1,638 across all unit types. These are average asking rents, not occupied-market averages or medians.

Sources and statistical definitions

• WECAR Residential Stats President’s Report — September 2026 — board-reported sales, average and median sale prices, new listings and year-to-date comparisons.
• CREA Windsor-Essex statistics — September 2026 — separately labelled all-residential series, month-end active listings, months of inventory and HPI benchmarks.
• Workforce WindsorEssex Labour Force Survey — September 2026 (PDF) — revised Windsor CMA labour-market statistics; released October 9, 2026.
• Workforce WindsorEssex Labour Market Insights — September 2026 — job-board postings, hiring companies and sector totals.
• CMHC Housing Starts and Construction Data — September 2026 — Windsor CMA actual starts, year-to-date starts, six-month SAAR trend and construction pipeline; released October 16, 2026.
• Rentals.ca Windsor asking rents — September 2026 — average asking rent by bedroom count and across unit sizes.
• Zumper Windsor rental listings — checked for all-unit median cross-reference; omitted because no September all-unit median could be verified.

Data retrieved October 20, 2026. All comparisons use the same source series and geographic definition unless explicitly labelled otherwise. This monthly statistical report is not a property appraisal, rent opinion or investment forecast.

For a neighbourhood-level market analysis, property valuation or investment review in Windsor-Essex, contact The Vanguard Team at Royal LePage Binder.