Canadian Home Sales Climb Higher In May

OTTAWA — According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales improved in May 2013, building on gains recorded in the previous two months.

Highlights:
•          National home sales rose 3.6% from April to May.
•          Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity came in 2.6% below levels in May 2012.
•          The number of newly listed homes was up 1.9% from April to May.
•          The Canadian housing market remains firmly in balanced territory.
•          The national average sale price rose 3.7% on a year-over-year basis in May.
•          The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) rose 2.3% year-over-year in May.

The number of home sales processed through the MLS Systems of real estate Boards and Associations and other cooperative listing systems in Canada rose 3.6 per cent on a month-over-month basis in May 2013, its largest monthly gain in almost two and a half years.