Property sales nationwide in Canada recorded a sizeable month on month increase in May with growth of 5.9%, according to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association. It is the largest month on month increase in nearly four years and sales rose in four out of every five local housing markets, including almost all large urban markets.

Actual, not seasonally adjusted, activity in May stood 4.8% above levels reported in the same month last year, and 3.8% above the 10 year average for the month of May.

May sales were led by Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Calgary, and Greater Toronto but monthly activity trailed levels reported last May in Montreal and Halifax-Dartmouth.

‘Over the past 25 years, that widespread a monthly sales increase has been recorded only a handful of times. Even so, the improvement varied by location,’ said CREA president Beth Crosbie.

The actual, not seasonally adjusted, national average price for homes sold in May 2014 was $416,584, up 7.1% from the same month last year. But the national average price continues to be skewed upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s largest and most expensive housing markets.

Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price reaches a relatively more modest $336,373 while the year on year increase shrinks to 5.3%.