CALGARY - Residential MLS sales in Calgary plunged at a rate more than four times greater than the national average in May, according to statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The association, which represents 99,000 realtors working through more than 100 real estate boards and associations, said MLS sales of residential properties in Calgary dropped by 18.7 per cent from May 2009 to 2,133 units but the average sale price increased on a year-over-year basis by 9.2 per cent to $417,978.

At the national level, sales declined by 4.3 per cent to 47,369 units and the average sale price rose by 8.5 per cent to $346,881.

Across Alberta, CREA reported MLS sales fell by 16.1 per cent to 5,207 units and the average sale price was up by 7.1 per cent to $364,303.

CREA said the combination of changes to mortgage regulations in April and rising mortgage rates pulled forward a number of sales into April that would have otherwise taken place at a later date.

"Supply and demand has become more balanced in a number of major markets," said Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist. "Homebuyers now have more choice and are likely to be in less of a rush to purchase than they were recently, so the amount of time it takes to sell a home is expected to rise in the coming months."

The number of months of inventory in May stood at 5.3 months across the country, up from 4.8 months a year ago. The nunber of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

"The number of months of inventory may rise further in response to easing sales activity and a further rise in the number of active listings," added Klump. "However, the number of newly-listed homes will ultimately retreat in response to a more competitive sales and pricing environment in a number of local markets. The outlook for the Canadian economy, employment, and mortgage market trends remain upbeat, so supply and demand will remain balanced on a national basis. Canada will avoid a U.S.-style home price correction."

CREA said new listings for Calgary increased on a year-over-year basis by 24.8 per cent in May to 5,150 units while in Alberta they were up by 16.3 per cent to 11,993 and by 18.0 per cent across the country to 92,763 units.