Increasing mortgage rates slowed home sales in April from the frenzied pace they started the year at, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday.

The association found the number of homes sold dropped by 25.7 per cent to 54,894 last month from 73,907 in April 2021, when the country set a record for the month.

On a month-over-month basis, sales in April were down 12.6 per cent compared with March, but still ranked as the third-highest April sales figure, just behind 2021 and 2016.

B次元官网网址淭he demand fever in Canadian housing has broken and, who would have thought, all it took was a nudge in interest rates by the Bank of Canada to change sentiment,B次元官网网址� said BMO Capital Markets senior analyst Robert Kavcic, in a note to investors.

CREA attributed much of the slowdown to fixed mortgage rates, which have been on the rise since 2021, but have been more impactful in recent months. The association pointed out that typical discounted five-year fixed rates have leaped from about three to four per cent over the span of a month.

The rate is also weighing on how buyers fare with the mortgage stress test, which oncerequired those with uninsured mortgages B次元官网网址� borrowers with a down payment of at least 20 per cent B次元官网网址� to carry a mortgage rate of either two percentage points above the contract rate, or 5.25 per cent, whichever is greater.

For fixed borrowers, CREA said the stress test just moved from 5.25 per cent to the low 6 per cent range, another roughly one per cent increase in a month.

B次元官网网址淧eople are nervous. They are thinking, B次元官网网址榠f I take on this mortgage, when mortgage rates are going up and the price to (live) is more, what is going to happen?B次元官网网址� said Anita Springate-Renaud, a Toronto broker with Engel & V枚lkers.

She noticed that many homes were still getting multiple offers last month, but instead of 20 offers, two or three was becoming the norm.

Properties are also taking longer to sell. Homes that used to find a buyer in three or four days are now sitting for two weeks, in some cases, she said.

Many other realtors have found buyers and sellers holding off on purchasing or listing properties until they see how much of an effect mortgage and interest rate changes have on the market.

B次元官网网址淔or buyers, this slowdown could mean more time to consider options in the market,B次元官网网址� said Jill Oudil, CREAB次元官网网址檚 chair, in a news release.

B次元官网网址淔or sellers, it could necessitate a return to more traditional marketing strategies.B次元官网网址�

This shift in sentiment was reflected in the number of newly listed homes, which, on a seasonally adjusted basis, fell by 2.2 per cent to 70,957 last month from 72,557 in March.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, new listings amounted to 91,559 last month, down 10.5 per cent from 102,294 in April 2022.

Even though CREA reported slowing sales and fewer listings, Canadians were shelling out even more for homes than they did in 2021.

The national average home price was a little over $746,000 in April, up 7.4 per cent from about $695,000 during the same month last year.

Excluding the Greater Toronto and Vancouver areas from this calculation, cuts $138,000 from the national average price, CREA said.

However, on a seasonally adjusted basis the national average home price slid by 3.8 per cent to $741,517 last month from $771,125 in March.

The home price index benchmark price hit $866,700 last month, down 0.6 per cent from a month ago but up 23.7 per cent from a year ago and 63.9 per cent from five years ago.

The benchmark price was lowest in Saskatchewan, where it totalled $271,100 and highest in B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Lower Mainland, where it amounted to more than $1.3 million.

Kavcic found Ontario markets B次元官网网址渨eakening most and fastest, especially further outside the core of Toronto (these were also the hottest markets in the country during the pandemic).B次元官网网址�

OntarioB次元官网网址檚 suburban markets are the B次元官网网址渟hakiestB次元官网网址� because of how prices have fallen from February peaks, but he said single-detached and townhomes look to be cooling quickest.

B次元官网网址淪ales in the province slid 21 per cent in April and are now back in-line with pre-pandemic activity levels,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淭he market balance has gone from drum tight with B次元官网网址榥ot enough supply,B次元官网网址� to one that resembles the 2017-19 correction period.B次元官网网址�

Within the province, TD Economics economist Rishi Sondhi found Toronto to be an outlier because sales and prices dropped more there than in the country overall.

Sondhi believes the Toronto market is now close to tipping in favour of buyers, but in the coming months, expects prices to continue falling nationally, reflecting the cooler demand backdrop.

B次元官网网址擳ara Deschamps, The Canadian Press