Canadian home sales rise 8.6%, year over year

The national average price for homes sold in May 2011 was $376,817, up 8.6 per cent from the same month last year.

With sales and new listings holding steady on a national basis in May, the resale housing market remained firmly planted in balanced territory. The national sales-to-new listings ratio, a measure of market balance, stood at 52.1 per cent in May, little changed from 52.5 per cent in April.
Highlights:
Sales activity held steady from April to May, but posted the first year-over-year gain in over a year due to falling demand in May 2010.
Year-to-date sales are in line with the ten-year average.
New listings also remained stable from April to May.
National housing market remains firmly entrenched in balanced territory.