Image Source via Getty Images A stock photo of a for-sale sign on a condo building.

Canadian home sales ended last year with a 22.7 per cent jump in December compared with a year ago as prices rose as part of a trend that should continue into this year, said the Canadian Real Estate Association. Sales in the final month of 2019 were up across most of Canada compared with a year ago, when sales growth had slowed, the association said Wednesday. On a month-over-month basis, home sales in December were down 0.9 per cent to end a streak of monthly gains that began last March. Watch: 3 trends you can expect from Canada’s housing market in 2020. Story continues below.

Sales rose from a year ago as listings declined, putting upward pressure on prices. The national average price for a home sold in December 2019 was about $517,000, up 9.6 per cent compared with a year earlier. Excluding the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto Area, two of the country’s most expensive and active housing markets, the average price of a home sold was about $400,000, up 6.7 per cent compared with December 2018. The average price was up 11.3 per cent in Ontario, and 8.5 per cent in British Columbia, while it dipped 0.4 per cent in Alberta and 3.7 per cent in Saskatchewan. “Home price growth is picking up in housing markets where listings are in short supply,” said Jason Stephen, president of CREA.