[OTTAWA, ON] - The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in June were down from a year ago but up from the previous month.

The association says sales last month were down 0.6 per cent from a year ago, but up 3.3 per cent when compared with May.

When compared with a year ago, Toronto and Montreal were lower, while Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton were up compared with last June.

Despite the overall drop in sales from June 2012, the national average sale price last month was up 4.8 per cent from a year ago.

The number of newly listed homes were down 0.5 per cent on a month-over-month basis in June.

The association says some 240,068 homes have sold in Canada through its MLS system so far this year, down 6.9 per cent from the first half of 2012.