WATERLOO REGION — Home sales in Waterloo Region continued to soar above historic levels last month, as more owners chose to list their properties to cash in on the record-setting market.

In Kitchener and Waterloo, the average sale price of a detached home was more than $594,000, an increase of more than 35 per cent from the same month a year ago. In Cambridge, a detached home cost an average of $528,000 in May, up more than 29 per cent from a year earlier.

And while home sales in the Greater Toronto Area plunged by more than 20 per cent last month compared to a year ago, there’s no similar signs of a cool-off coming to Waterloo Region.

“They’ve had a significant slide, but we’re not seeing that here in our market. We’re still seeing some strong demand, and I think price point is still a big factor in that,” said James Craig, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors.

In Toronto, the average selling price for all properties in May was $863,910, up from $752,100 the same month last year, the Toronto Real Estate Board said. That was down from $919,614 in April, the first month-over-month drop this year.

Analysts suggested that decrease was a result of a new foreign buyers’ tax brought in to slow rapid price growth that was making homes unaffordable in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

But local realtors aren’t expecting a similar slowdown in Waterloo Region because a house can be had here for roughly half the price of one in Toronto. The average selling price for a detached home in Toronto was $1,141,041 last month.

“Compare that to $595,000, and it’s not quite 50 cents on the dollar, but it sure is close,” Craig said. “Our market continues to look like a better option. It remains a seller’s market here.”

His association says the average sale price of all types of real estate units — including townhomes and condos — was $496,664 last month. That’s $223,000 more than the local average here in 2008.

The average sale price for an apartment-style condo was $293,158, an increase of almost 26 per cent from a year ago. Townhomes and semis sold for an average of $361,198, up 30 per cent, and $383,819, up 29 per cent from May 2016.

Across Waterloo Region, realtors reported more owners were choosing to sell their homes last month, finally easing a chronic supply shortage that has made it difficult for a lot of people to find a home.

“Sales continue to run at near-record levels, and it appears the market may finally be seeing a bit of relief on the supply side with new listings continuing to rise,” Jim Robinson, president of the Cambridge Association of Realtors, said in a news release.

“That said, market conditions have been measured in weeks of inventory rather than months since last fall, and that remains the case heading into the busiest time of the year.

The Cambridge association says it sold $137-million worth of homes, not including condos, last month. That’s an increase of almost 68 per cent from a year ago. The number of detached homes sold in Cambridge rose more than 30 per cent from a year ago.

In Kitchener and Waterloo, realtors sold a record 816 residential units last month, an increase of 8.2 per cent compared to May 2016, and six per cent more than April. That’s the second consecutive month total sales hit an all-time high.

A big reason for that increase is simply more homes on the market. The Kitchener-Waterloo association’s realtors listed 1,271 residential properties last month, almost 39 per cent more than a year ago, and a 29 per cent increase compared to April.

It’s the first time in two years that the number of new listings on the market has passed the 1,000-unit mark.

“With the persistent buyer demand we’ve been experiencing these past several months, it was great to see that spike in residential listings enter the market in May, as we’ve had a severe shortage of inventory,” Craig said.

The average sale price of all residential units in Kitchener and Waterloo dipped slightly in May, down three per cent from the month before, but Craig says that’s the result of more inventory coming onto the market — and doesn’t believe it’s a sign that demand is slowing.

Instead, he thinks realtors could be as busy as ever in the next few months as more local homeowners choose to cash in and sell their homes.

“I think more people are coming out of the woodwork, so maybe we’ll see a more robust summer just because we’ve never seen a seller’s market like this,” he said.