Some 135,182 homes were sold across Canada in the third quarter, up 18 per cent from a year earlier and the most ever for the period, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Thursday.

It's the biggest year-over-year increase since early 2002, the group says.

People walk past new homes for sale in Oakville, Ont., in April. Nationally, housing sales increased by 18 per cent during the third quarter, the CREA says. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
Building on two previous quarterly increases, seasonally adjusted home sales on the agency's Multiple Listing Service now stands 48 per cent above the low reached in the fourth quarter last year.

Quarterly activity increases in Vancouver (34 per cent), Toronto (11 per cent), and Calgary (19 per cent) were the largest contributors to the national increase.

Climbing to $327,736, the average price of a house in Canada rose 11 per cent from the same quarter last year.

The national average price continues to be skewed upward by a sustained increase in sales activity, including a sharp rebound in activity at the higher end of the price spectrum, in some of Canada’s priciest markets, the CREA said

The national average price surpassed all previous monthly levels in September 2009, rising 13.6 per cent year-over-year to $331,602. July and August also posted new average price records for their respective months.

A number of provinces set new average price records for September. Ontario posted the highest average price on record in the province.

An increase in sales activity and fewer new listings are drawing down inventories compared to year-ago levels.

Nationally, the number of months of inventory was 4.9 months in September, down slightly compared to August, and well down from the recessionary peak of 12.8 months in January.