Canadian home sales in May were up 6.7 per cent compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year increase since 2016, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported on Friday.
The improvement in sales was driven by the Greater Toronto Area, which accounted for close to half of the overall increase. On a month-over-month basis, sales through the Multiple Listing Service were up 1.9 per cent.
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The national average price for a home sold in May was close to $508,000, up 1.8 per cent from a year ago. Excluding the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto Area, two of the country’s most expensive markets, the average price was just under $397,000.
CREA is upgrading its forecast for 2019 home sales to show a slight improvement compared with last year, rather than a decline. The association says home sales are now projected to edge up 1.2 per cent from last year to 463,000 units in 2019 compared with its previous forecast for a decline of 1.6 per cent this year.
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