Home sales in the Vancouver region appear to have “topped off” in April, despite a record-breaking month in real estate nationwide, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Sales activity fell by 7.6% last month compared to March in the cities covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, with 4,781 residential properties changing hands. That still makes April 2016 the highest-selling April on record, but the Canadian Real Estate Association’s chief economist Gregory Klump believes the region’s tight housing supply and competitive atmosphere are starting to self-perpetuate.

“While significant home price gains may entice some homeowners in these markets to list their home for sale, the issue for many is that the decision to move means they would also be looking to buy while competition for scarce listings is fierce,” Klump said in a news release.

“As a result, many homeowners are deciding to stay put and continue accumulating capital gains. That’s keeping listings off the markets at a time when they are already in short supply.”

A similar pattern was on display in April in Toronto, leading association president Cliff Iverson to suggest that Canada’s two hottest markets may have “topped off.”

As homeowners grow wary of selling, prices in Vancouver continue to skyrocket. The association’s benchmark price for all types of real estate across the region rose by 25.34% over the last year to hit $844,800. The benchmark price for a detached home was $1.4 million last month.

The ratio of sales to active listings in April was 63.3% in April in greater Vancouver, which indicates a market strongly in favour of the seller. According to the local real estate board, prices are generally only pushed down if that ratio falls below 12%.

The areas covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and South Delta.

Across the country, home sales set a new record for April as they gained 10.3 per cent compared with a year ago.

The national association says sales were up in about 70% of all local markets compared with a year ago, boosted by markets in other parts of BC, as well as southern Ontario. There were 57,669 homes sold nationwide over the Multiple Listing Service in April.

Compared with March, sales were up 3.1% in April.

The national average price for homes sold in April was $508,097, up 13.1% compared with a year ago.

Excluding the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto markets, the average price was $369,222, up 8.7% from April 2015.

The rise in sales came as the number of new homes put up for sale slipped 3.7% from a year ago to 103,028.

Newly listed homes were down 0.2% in April compared with March. The national sales-to-new listings ratio rose to 64.5% in April, the ratio’s tightest reading since October 2009.

Drop in Vancouver-Area Home Sales Suggests Owners Spooked by Bethany Lindsay | The Canadian Press | The Province