National home sales fell by 40% last month compared with last year.

The Canadian Real Estate Association says sales were actually comparable to February 2018 and 2019.

The year-over-year decline last month came as the national average sales price dropped by 18.9% compared with the all-time record in February last year.

When comparing sales with January, they were up 2.3% in February, thanks to gains in Toronto and Vancouver.

New listings dropped 7.9% month-over month.

CREA’s chair feels February’s data suggests the potential of a more robust market.

”We won’t know what the 2023 market has in store until the spring,” says Jill Oudil.

”While we’re not seeing it in the sales or listings data just yet, I would expect homeowners are getting properties ready for the market and prospective buyers are getting mortgage pre-approvals.”