The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales across the country dropped sharply last month, driven by a plunge in transactions in the Greater Toronto Area.
The number of residential properties sold last month fell by 6.2 per cent in May compared to April, the largest month-to-month decline in nearly five years.
In the GTA, sales were down a whopping 25.3 per cent from April to May, a slide CREA attributed to major housing policy changes, including a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers.
The tax was one of more than a dozen measures implemented by the Ontario government aimed at cooling Toronto's blistering housing market, where prices have spiralled out of reach for many potential homebuyers.
In Vancouver, another real estate market under much scrutiny, sales were up by 22.8 per cent month-over-month.
The national average price for all homes sold last month was $530,304, pulled up by Toronto and Vancouver, where it was $863,910 and $1,110,376, respectively.