If sales from the Greater Vancouver area aren't included, the average Canadian home price would have shown an increase of 1.3 per cent during February, compared to a year ago.

But the latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association state that national average price for homes sold through its members in February has slid instead, down one per cent to $368,895.

The CREA expects the national average home price to slip further in 2013, down to $362,600.

The association also forecasts "record declines" in provincial average home prices in British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick.

Overall, the number of homes sold across Canada decreased by almost 16 per cent in February compared to a year ago.

The association says it expects total number of sales in British Columbia to decline in 2013, but rebound by almost 10 per cent in 2014.

Of the 26 local markets tracked by CREA, only Edmonton showed a year-to-year increase in actual sales — all the rest showed year-to-year declines.

CREA says the market's recent cooling is a result of tougher borrowing and lending rules for mortgages brought in last summer.

With files from The Canadian Press