Above $2 million in Burlington, the homes that sell are priced off what homes like them sold for nearby, and they need nothing on day one. The homes that sit are priced like Oakville, or they ask a finished price for a house that still needs work. The closest number I have is for homes asking $1.5 million and up. In the 52 weeks to October 17, 2026, Burlington had 390 of those sales from 1,032 new listings, according to our Burlington market report. That is a sell-through of 38%, which means about 38 sales for every 100 new listings.
So the top end is moving. It just isn't moving for everyone.
I'm Juan Gutierrez, a Realtor with Found Spaces. I grew up in Oakville and I live in Etobicoke. Most of the people I sit down with are leaving Toronto for more room, and at this price I work beside our Burlington luxury team.
The number I watch, and the one I don't have
I'd love to give you a sell-through number for $2 million and up. Nobody publishes one for Burlington that I trust, so I won't make one up.
The $1.5 million and up band is the next best thing. Those 390 sales were 15.7% of every home sold in Burlington over that year. That's about one sale in six, or roughly seven or eight a week across the whole city.
Think about what that means for you as a buyer. There are real choices, but there are not dozens of new ones every weekend, and when a good one shows up the other serious buyers in town see it the same day you do, so you want your homework done before it lists.
What I watch at $2 million and up is simple. How long a home has been listed. Whether the price has come down. Whether it was pulled and put back up. Those three things tell me more about a single house than any average can.
Why Burlington feels like a buyer's market at the top right now
Look at the two cities side by side for September 2026.
In Oakville, the average freehold home sold for $1,836,013, up 8% from a year earlier, per our Oakville market report. Freehold means detached, semi and townhouse sales.
In Burlington, the average freehold home sold for $1,062,329, down 10% from a year earlier, per the September 2026 Burlington report. Sales were 184, down 12%.
Those are averages for the whole city. They don't tell you what a lakeshore house is worth. They do tell you the mood.
Oakville sellers have had a good year. Many Burlington sellers haven't, and some of them still price their homes as if they live next door to Oakville's numbers. Those are the listings I see sitting.
My opinion, and I'll stand behind it: a Toronto buyer with $2 million or more has more room to ask questions and negotiate in Burlington this fall than in Oakville. That's good news. It's not a reason to rush, and it's not a reason to lowball a home that's priced right.
What moves above $2 million in Burlington
The homes that sell tend to share a few things.
They're close to something people love. Downtown and the lakeshore, where you can walk to the water. Aldershot, close to the GO station and the Royal Botanical Gardens. The escarpment, where people want trees and quiet.
They're done. The kitchen, the roof, the windows, the basement. A Toronto buyer at this price has usually just sold a house that needed work, and they don't want another one.
And they're priced off homes like them that sold close by, recently. A seller who does that usually gets offers. A seller who prices off a hope usually gets a price cut later.
Waterfront is its own world. A private lakefront home like 868 Danforth Place in Burlington, which we wrote about on our blog, has no true twin, so the price comes down to the frontage, the shoreline and the house itself. You can see more of what we work on at the top end on our Burlington luxury homes page.
What sits, and why
Picture a family selling a semi in Toronto for about $1.8 million and walking into a big Burlington house asking about $2.4 million. It looks perfect online. Then they see the basement is half finished, the windows are original and the price is set like everything is new. They pass, and so do the next three families, because every one of them is doing the same math in their heads. Six weeks later the price drops, and now buyers wonder what's wrong with it.
That round-number scene is made up, but the pattern isn't rare.
The other homes that sit are the ones that look great on a big lot until you notice what's around them. A busy road at the back. A huge house on a small lot with no yard for the kids. A layout that made sense in a different decade.
There's one thing I do on every house at this price. Before we write an offer, I ask the listing agent for the list of updates, with the year each was done and any permits, in writing. If the answer is slow or vague, that tells me something too.
The commute and the schools, said honestly
GO Lakeshore West stops at Burlington, Appleby and Aldershot. If you work downtown Toronto, a house you can walk or bike to one of those stations changes your week.
I don't quote drive times on the QEW. They change too much. Drive it yourself at 7:30 on a Tuesday morning, and again at 5:00, before you decide that a house is "close enough."
Schools are the first question most families ask me. I don't rank schools for anyone. I tell people to check the school board's boundary map for the exact address, then call the school, because a street on one side of a road can go to a different school than the street across it.
My takeaway: in Burlington above $2 million, you're buying the location, the lot and the work already done. Pay for those. Don't pay for a price that was copied from Oakville.
What I'd do this month if you're coming from Toronto
Pick two Burlington areas, not five. Lakeshore and Aldershot, say, or the escarpment and Alton Village.
Then look at what sold there in the last few months, and at what has been listed a long time without selling. The gap between those two lists is where your best deals often hide, and it's also where you learn which sellers are realistic.
And go see a few homes in person before you're ready to buy. At this price, the photos hide the busy road and the small yard.
Questions people ask
Can I rent in Burlington first before buying at the top end?
Yes, and some families do it to learn the streets. The median asking rent for a three-bedroom-plus house in Burlington was $3,900 a month in the twelve months to October 23, 2026, and those homes leased in a median of 4 days. That's asking rent, not signed leases. Good rentals go fast, so be ready to apply quickly.
How many homes are for sale in Burlington right now?
In September 2026 there were 1,035 homes for sale in Burlington and 562 new listings that month, per the Burlington market report. That count covers every price, not just the top end. It still shows buyers have choice this fall.
How long do homes take to sell in Burlington?
The average across all Burlington sales in September 2026 was 32 days on market. Nobody publishes a days-on-market figure for the $2 million and up range, so I don't quote one. For a single luxury house, I look at its own listing history instead.
Talk it through with me
If you're leaving Toronto and looking at Burlington above $2 million, the best first step is a short conversation about the two areas you're drawn to. Send me a note through our contact page and pick a time that suits you.
En español
En Burlington, por encima de los $2 millones, se venden las casas que tienen un precio basado en ventas cercanas y que no necesitan trabajo. Las que se quedan en el mercado suelen tener precios como si estuvieran en Oakville. En las 52 semanas hasta el 17 de octubre de 2026, las casas de $1.5 millones o más tuvieron una tasa de venta del 38%. Si viene de Toronto, escoja dos zonas de Burlington y compare lo que se vendió con lo que lleva mucho tiempo sin venderse. Escríbame desde mi página y lo vemos juntos, en español.