Nearly every district in the Hamilton-Burlington real estate market had a double-digit average price increase during a record-breaking month in May.

The only exception was Ancaster.

A hot spring real estate market led to May sales of 1,752 homes, smashing the record of 1,642 sales just set in April.

Across Hamilton and Burlington, average sale prices climbed 10 per cent from May 2014 to $433,249.

"For the second month in a row, sales in the Hamilton-Burlington area broke an all-time record," said Ross Godsoe, CEO of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington.

"To say we've had a busy spring market would be an understatement. Low inventory and relatively low prices have led to properties in the old City of Hamilton to sell, on average, at or above asking."

The price hike was highest in Glanbrook at 27.8 per cent or $100,792 on 43 sales. That pushed the average sale price to $463,560 in Glanbrook, where the Multiple Listings Service currently shows 79 properties for sale, ranging from an attached townhouse for $299,900 to a custom-built four-bedroom house for $1.25 million.

Dundas saw an average asking price jump 17.3 per cent to $454,514.

Hamilton East came in at 15.1 per cent to $258,661. Ancaster was the only district in the single digits, at a still-strong 8.4 per cent and $534,860 average price.

Total property sales (including commercial) of 1,810 beat May 2014 numbers by 9.4 per cent.

Sales were up in each district, except for Hamilton West, Stoney Creek and Glanbrook. Some areas grew sales only marginally, though Hamilton Centre saw a 33 per cent spike and Hamilton Mountain sales grew by 12 per cent.

There were 2,587 properties listed for sale in May, up 4.5 per cent over last May. End-of-month listing inventory fell 8.9 per cent.

When seasonally adjusted, sales of residential properties were 11.1 per cent higher than the previous May and average sale prices climbed 10 per cent to $433,249.

Listings grew in May, but Godsoe says inventory is "still very low, with just two months' supply of listings. The Hamilton-Burlington market has favoured sellers for a while now, and remains one of the tightest markets in Canada."

For 2015, sales are 9.7 per cent higher over the same period last year, listings are up 5.6 per cent and the average sale price is 8.5 per cent higher.

Sales agent Jeff Bonner of City Brokerage says though listings climbed last month from May 2014, they didn't keep pace with demand.

"It's been tough on buyers," he said.

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He knows some homeowners are delaying listing their homes because they fear they won't be able to find something else within their budget. "It's the right time to downsize for the most part … but people who are buying up are feeling concerned. That means some people are looking in areas they weren't originally looking in. I know some people who wanted to buy in Hamilton but moved to Caledonia."

Bonner offers simple advice to buyers in a strong sellers' market: "Buyers need to keep their heads and not get carried away ... Someone will jump in and do something silly, but it doesn't have to be you."