TORONTO, Ont. – A Scotiabank real-estate report said Canadian housing market conditions have cooled slightly, but the country continues to outperform other developed nations.

Scotiabank expects the number of sales and average prices in Canada will be flat in the latter half of 2012.

By comparison, it finds global property markets remain under stress, especially in recession-plagued European countries.

Scotiabank’s latest report on global real estate trends report says that the Canadian national average price for homes fell by 1.6 per cent in the first quarter, compared with the same period of last year.

That compared with a 1.3 per cent year-over-year gain in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Prices were down in most regions of Canada, with Toronto being the notable exception.

Scotiabank said Canadian real-estate demand has cooled due to moderate income growth and tighter mortgage insurance rules.

In addition, it said there’s a bigger supply of houses up for sale for buyers to choose from.