The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales continued moving at a slow pace in February but activity started to pick up near the end of the month.

The number of homes that changed hands throughout the country was 8.1 per cent lower than February 2025, while sales also fell 1.3 per cent month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Despite a quiet start to the year, CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says the association still expects pent-up demand from first-time buyers will translate to sales in 2026, with the caveat that “some will no doubt continue to hold off for a bottom in prices in some Ontario and British Columbia markets.”

The national average sale price in February ticked 0.2 per cent lower from a year ago to $663,828.

The number of newly listed properties fell 3.9 per cent month-over-month, erasing the jump recorded in January.

CREA says there were 151,850 properties listed for sale on all Canadian MLS systems at the end of February, up 3.7 per cent from a year earlier but 12.3 per cent below the long-term average for that time of year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press