_Average price over $600,000

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Vancouver-area home prices and sales had another year of gains in 2011.  An industry group says sales rose 5.9 per cent, topping 32,000.  The adjusted average price last month was $622,000 which is up 7.6 per cent.  Detached houses were up 11.2 per cent to $877,000.

The full-year numbers mask a sharp drop-off in sales late in the year. 

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says sales last month fell nearly 13 per cent from a year earlier and 34 per cent from December 2009.