Demand stays muted while prices soften and new listings retreat across key housing markets
Canada’s housing market remained subdued in February, with national home sales slipping further as buyers and sellers continued to hold back ahead of the typically busier spring season.
The Canadian Real Estate Association has revealed data from Canadian MLS Systems that shows a 1.3% decline in transactions last month compared with January, extending the quieter trend seen at the start of the year. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, sales activity was 8.1% lower than in February 2025.
“February saw a continuation of the quieter levels of activity recorded in January, although there was some indication things were starting to pick up speed toward the end of the month,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist. “2026 is still ultimately expected to be a story about pent-up first-time buyer demand finally seeing a chance to enter the market. They’ve had to wait a long time for mortgage rates to find a bottom, but some will no doubt continue to hold off for a bottom in prices in some Ontario and British Columbia markets.”
New supply also declined, with the number of properties newly listed falling 3.9% month over month, effectively reversing the increase recorded in January. As listings dropped faster than sales, the national sales-to-new-listings ratio edged higher to 47.6% from 46.4% in the previous month.
While this shift suggests some tightening in market conditions, the figure remains well below the long-term average of 54.8%. Historically, readings between roughly 45% and 65% are viewed as consistent with balanced housing markets.
“Housing market activity in February remained slow, particularly in the stretch of Ontario between Windsor and Toronto,” said Valérie Paquin, CREA Chair. “That said, the main event never really gets going until around April, so there’s still time to get ready to buy or sell this year. Step one is getting in touch with a local REALTOR®.”
At the end of February, about 151,850 homes were listed for sale nationwide. This marked a 3.7% increase compared with the same period last year but still sat 12.3% below the long-term seasonal average.
Inventory levels held steady at five months nationally, unchanged from January and broadly in line with historical norms. However, the national average continues to mask significant regional variation. No province is currently at that level, and only a limited number of local markets are close to it. Based on standard deviations around the long-term average, markets with less than 3.6 months of inventory are typically considered sellers’ markets, while those above 6.4 months point to buyer-friendly conditions.
Price measures also weakened during the month. The National Composite MLS® Home Price Index slipped 0.6% from January, though the decline was smaller than the previous month’s drop. On a year-over-year basis, the index was down 4.8%.
Regional trends remained uneven, with benchmark prices still lower than a year earlier in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, offset by gains in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the non-seasonally adjusted national average home price came in at $663,828 in February 2026 — virtually unchanged from the same month last year, declining just 0.2%.
