OTTAWA - The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in June edged higher compared with a year ago, as gains in Greater Toronto and Montreal offset declines in B.C.

The association says sales through its Multiple Listing Service last month were up 0.3 per cent compared with June 2018.

On a month-over-month basis, home sales were up 0.2 per cent in June.

The increase in the number of homes sold came as the number of newly listed homes edged up 0.8 per cent in June.

CREA says stable sales and a slight increase in new listings caused the national sales-to-new listings ratio to ease to 57.1 per cent in June from 57.7 per cent in May.

The national average price for a home sold in June was just under $505,500, up 1.7 per cent from the same month last year.