The number of new listings of homes for sale on the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) of real estate boards in Canada set a second consecutive monthly record in May 2008, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

New MLS^® residential listings rose 1.8 per cent on a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis to 78,878 units in May 2008.

The new record, the second in as many months, resulted largely from unprecedented numbers of new listings in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick. This more than offset a monthly decline in newly listed properties in Alberta, where new listings continued to retreat from their peak in March.

Record numbers of new listings are creating more balanced resale housing markets in many centers, and nowhere has this trend been more evident than in Regina and Saskatoon. These were two of the tightest markets in Canada at the beginning of the year, but a surge in new listings and slowing sales activity put them among the most balanced of major resale housing markets in May. A similar but less pronounced trend also pushed Vancouver's resale housing market into a more balanced position in May. As a result, British Columbia and Saskatchewan joined Alberta in May as having the most balanced provincial housing markets in the country.

Seasonally adjusted national MLS^® sales activity edged lower by 1.2 per cent month-over-month to 38,133 units in May 2008. The small monthly decline was mostly due to fewer transactions in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Fewer sales in those provinces offset a monthly rise in activity in Ontario, which resulted from a rebound in sales activity in Toronto and record level activity in Ottawa.

More balanced housing markets in many provinces are causing price gains to shrink. The national MLS^® residential average price rose 1.8 per cent year-over-year to $318,761 in May 2008. This is the highest level ever for average price, but the smallest year-over-year price increase in seven years. MLS^® residential average price scaled new heights in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland & Labrador in May .

Seasonally adjusted MLS^® residential dollar volume totaled $11.9 billion in May, down just one per cent from levels recorded in April. Dollar volume reached its highest level on record in Manitoba and recorded its second highest level in Nova Scotia.

"The resale housing market has evolved quickly in just a few short months," said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. "A more balanced market means buyers are in a better negotiating position. Rising food, fuel and home prices are denting consumer confidence. Increasingly cautious homebuyers may keep listings on the market longer before being sold and increase the importance of realistic pricing."

"Over the long haul what's good for consumers is a strong, stable and balanced market," says the President of The Canadian Real Estate Association, Cal Lindberg. "Buyers get to take time to assess their options, and sellers must find the right marketing plan for their property. A REALTOR^® provides the expertise to help both buyers and sellers with those issues."