Seasonally adjusted activity set new monthly records in Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia, and reached the second highest monthly level ever in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Year-to-date transactions also set a new record. In the first seven months of this year, home sales via board and association MLS (Multiple Listing Service) systems numbered 336,286 units - a 9.7 per cent increase over the same period in 2006. New year-to-date records were posted in every province.

The national MLS residential average price rose 12.6 per cent year-over-year in July to $311,495. This was the strongest year-over-year average price growth since May 2006. Average price set new records in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Seasonally adjusted new MLS listings totalled 71,370 units in July. This represents the second highest level on record - down 1.2 per cent from the record set in June. New listings also reached the second highest level on record in Alberta.

The re-sale housing market tightened in July compared to the previous month due to fewer listings and higher sales activity. The market was tightest in Manitoba. Conditions also remain tight in Saskatchewan, even though the market has become more balanced since the beginning of the year. With sales going strong in British Columbia, Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia, market conditions in these provinces continued to tighten in July. By contrast, the market was more balanced in Alberta than in any other province.

Seasonally adjusted MLS residential dollar volume rose 2.2 per cent to $14.1 billion in July - the highest level on record. MLS dollar volume also set new records in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

"The re-sale housing market in many Canadian cities is more balanced than earlier in the year," said CREA president Ann Bosley. "Overall market fundamentals like consumer confidence and employment continue to be positive influence."

"The U.S. sub-prime mortgage market meltdown may dent U.S. consumer spending, and by extension, demand for Canadian exports," said CREA chief economist Gregory Klump. "It may cause the Bank of Canada to revise its economic growth forecast downward, or otherwise identify it as a distinct downside risk when it announces its Bank rate decision on 05 September.

"Until recently, the Bank was expected to raise its trend-setting Bank rate on 05 September. It is now expected to hold rates steady until financial market uncertainty begins to settle. Steady interest rates would help support economic growth, consumer confidence and home buying activity."