Both total sales and the average price for all types of dwellings in Brampton were in negative territory in February compared to same month last year.

According to monthly tracking data from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), the average market price for real estate in the Flower City came in at $677,951 last month compared to $725,249 February 2017.

The 6.5 per cent monthly year-over-year drop in average price represents the first time that’s happened in more than five years of monthly tracking data collected by the Brampton Guardian.

The total number of sales fell significantly over February 2017, falling 38.4 per cent from 788 to just 485 last month. All segments of the Brampton market saw declines in total sales.

On the average price side of the equation, the overall market was mixed with both detached and semi-detached homes falling in price year over year. The condo sector, on the other hand, posted year-over-year increases in average market value.

The average detached home in Brampton sold for $850,433 in February of last year, compared to $787,172 last month — a year-over-year decline of $63,261 or 7.4 per cent.

Semi-detached homes, on average, sold for $649,957 last year compared $622,752 in February 2018, marking 4.2 per cent drop.

On the flip side, the townhome-style condominium segment of the market gained 5.4 per cent over the same month last year, jumping from $453,062 to $477,452 in February 2018.

Likewise, the apartment-style condominium segment jumped 14.9 per cent from $323,221 in February 2017 to $371,409 last month.

"When TREB released its Outlook for 2018, the forecast anticipated a slow start to the year compared to the historically high sales count reported in the winter and early spring of 2017,” said TREB president Tim Syrianos in the organization’s monthly report and analysis.