It was the best February for sales in the history of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

But there still wasn’t enough inventory to meet rising demand for existing homes sales and the result was record prices for Canada’s most expensive housing market.

The board said Wednesday that its composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver reached $795,500 at the end of last month, a 22.2% increase compared to a year ago. The average detached home sold for $1,816,487.

There were 4,172 sales in February 2016, a 36.3% jump from the 3,061 sales a year ago and a 65.6% increase from January. Sales were 56.3% above the 10-year average for the month of February.

“We’re in a competitive, fast-moving market cycle that favours home sellers. Sustained home buyer competition is keeping upward pressure on home prices across the region,” said Darcy McLeod, president of the board, in a statement.

Even with a slight surge in listings, the market cannot keep up with demand in Vancouver right now. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver reached 5,812 in February 2016, a 7.1 increase from a year ago and a 30.8 per cent increase from just a month earlier.

“We’re beginning to see home listings increase as we head toward the spring market, however, additional supply is still needed to meet today’s demand,” McLeod said.

Vancouver Home Sales Set New Record, Jumping 65.6% in a Month by Garry Marr | Financial Post