The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales across the country fell by 14.5 per cent between December 2017 and January 2018.
The sharp drop means sales have reached their lowest level in three years despite being on par with the 10-year monthly average.
The decrease comes after sales climbed to a record monthly high in December, just before the federal banking regulator introduced stricter mortgage rules and the interest rate was hiked.
CREA says year-over-year sales were only down 2.4 per cent, but the average price of a home rose by 2.3 per cent when compared with last year.
The number of newly-listed homes plunged 21.6 per cent from December 2017 to January 2018.
CREA says activity decreased in three-quarters of all local markets in Canada and most of the large declines came from the Great Golden Horseshoe markets.
The national average home price for January was just over $481,500. Excluding the greater Toronto and Vancouver areas, the price drops to $374,000.
with a file from Siobhan Morris