This is going to be a record year for home sales in Canada.

The Canadian Real Estate Association makes that prediction, which expects nearly 702,000 transactions this year compared with 551,262 last year.

CREA says COVID-19 has not scared off buyers with realtors reporting bidding wars and multiple offers for suburban homes or properties that need work.

The association believes the market will start to cool in 2022, when homes sales of around 614,000 are expected.

The updated outlook comes as CREA says sales in February were up 6.6% compared with the month before and over 39% higher than a year ago.