All this put Canada’s average MLS® price near $464,220 during the first five months of 2018, a drop of 5.6 per cent from the same period a year earlier, marking the first decline in home prices since the 2009 recession. Meanwhile, MLS® sales activity also moderated, dropping 15.4 per cent to 196,112 units. Still, national housing starts saw an increase of 3.6 per cent over the period, from 107,156 to 111,021 units.