May turned out to be a busy month for Ottawa real estate agents.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board says its members sold 1,667 homes during the month, an increase of 8 per cent over 2005. May is traditionally one of the busiest months of the year for sales of existing homes.

Single-family sales were up 6 per cent, while condominium sales jumped 16.4 per cent over May of 2005.

The board says the average price of a resale home last month was up 4.8 per cent over last year, to $259,140.

"The home buying public is demonstrating its confidence in the local economy," board president Ron Levine said in a statement.

"It's also noteworthy that the inventory of properties available for sale remains high, giving excellent choices to buyers."

On a year-to-date basis, condominium sales are growing faster than sales of single-family homes. Condo sales from January to May totaled 1,202, and increase of 8.6 per cent over 2005. Single-family sales were up 6.6 per cent to 4,852 over the same period.

Affordability is often cited as a major factor in higher sales of condos.

The average price of condos sold so far this year is $184,148, an increase of 2.9 per cent. The average selling price of a single-family home is up 4.6 per cent to $272,864.

At the high end of the housing market, sales are booming.

Sales of homes valued at more than $500,000 are up 52 per cent for the first five months of the year, with 211 properties changing hands. Most of the increase is in the sale of homes between $500,000 and $750,000. Seven homes have sold in the $1 million and up price range.