Housing market showing signs of slowdown, with average price falling 6% in April | CBC News

The average sale price of a Canadian home fell six per cent to $746,000 in April, down from the previous month but still higher than levels a year ago.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday that home sales fell in April by 12 per cent nationally, with the biggest drops seen in big cities like Toronto.

Prices peaked at a record high of more than $816,000 in February this year and average home prices have now declined for two months in a row. In March, the average price stood at $796,000, before falling another six per cent in April, which is typically a strong month for the housing market.

“Following a record-breaking couple of years, housing markets in many parts of Canada have cooled off pretty sharply over the last two months, in line with a jump in interest rates and buyer fatigue,” CREA chair Jill Oudil said in a statement.

CREA says the average selling price can be misleading because it is easily skewed by expensive and numerous sales in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver. It highlights a different number called the House Price Index as a better gauge of the market because it adjusts for the volume and type of homes sold.

The HPI shrank by 0.6 per cent in April, the first monthly decline in two years.