TORONTO - Housing re-sales were down last month in the Toronto area but prices were still up from the same time last year, according to the local real-estate association.

There were 3,690 sales in the Greater Toronto Area last month through the Multiple Listing Service, down from 4,585 in December 2011.

The average price of the sales through TorontoMLS rose to $478,789 from $449,566 -- an increase of 6.5 per cent from the year before.

The number of housing units sold in the Greater Toronto Area for all of 2012 totalled 85,731, down four per cent from 89,096 in 2011.

The average price for all of 2012 in the GTA was $497,298, up seven per cent from 2011.