Residential sales activity in the area served by the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® increased from year-ago levels in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Residential property sales were up nine per cent on a year-over-year basis to 2,016 units in the fourth quarter.

On an annual basis 9,105 residential properties traded hands during 2011, an increase of four per cent from 2010.

Detached home sales were up by eight per cent from year-ago levels to 1,406 units in the fourth quarter of 2011. Detached home sales activity was up for Halifax-Dartmouth, Cape Breton and South Shore, but declined in the Highland region and Northern Nova Scotia.

The number of months of inventory was unchanged from the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. Months of inventory were up in Cape Breton and Northern Nova Scotia, but declined in Halifax-Dartmouth, Highland and South Shore.

Within the areas served by the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS®, buyers took about the same amount of time to shop as they had a year earlier. On a local level the median number of days on market increased in all areas except Highland and South Shore.

The median price for detached home sales in the area served by the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® was up seven per cent to $207,250 in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The median sale price was up the most in Northern Nova Scotia, rising four per cent to $115,000.

Median sale prices were down in Cape Breton, Highland, and South Shore. The median price for Halifax-Dartmouth was unchanged from the previous fourth quarter.