Data from the Canadian Real Estate Association showed that the average home prices dropped by 19 percent from the February 2022 peak of $816,578 to $662,437 last month.

Meanwhile, the chief economist at BMO Capital Markets expected prices to decline by 20 to 25 percent.

For her part, Michelle Gilbert, a real estate expert in Toronto at Sage Real Estate Ltd, said: “We received a large influx of buyers in January and February, and we are still getting more and have started to see the return of multiple offers.”

These clients are a mix of people who have to move because they are relocating for work or their families are growing, as well as first-time homebuyers eager to take advantage of the low prices.

Gilbert also said that many first-time buyers find it difficult to qualify for mortgages, but they still want to make a purchase.

In Vancouver, Coldwell Banker agent Lotarja Mazaheri witnessed a revival in buyers.

After weeks of the Bank of Canada indicating that further interest rate hikes are unlikely, she said that properties have started selling quickly with multiple offers.

Mazaheri added: “People are worried that prices will start to rise again.”

However, she does not expect the market to return to the pace of 2021, largely due to the shortage of available properties.

The Canadian Real Estate Association also recently revealed that new listings for February reached 51,366, down 26 percent from last year.

Robert Hogue, chief economist at RBC Economics, said in a recent report that if the steep decline in new listings continues along with tightening supply and demand conditions, price moderation will be achieved in the coming months.

If these conditions persist, he expects prices to reach their lowest point sometime in the summer or shortly thereafter.