The sale of homes in the Greater Toronto Area is continuing its downward trend.

The Toronto Real Estate Board says the number of homes sold in the GTA dropped 17 per cent last month from March of 2012.

Sales in the first three months of the year were down 14 per cent from the first quarter of last year.

The board continues to blame tighter mortgage rules and Toronto’s land transfer tax for the decline.

But prices continue to rise. The average selling price last month was just under $520,000. That’s an increase of almost four per cent from March of 2012.