Average house price in Canada up 9.5% to $448,862

The average price of a Canadian resale home rose 9.5 per cent in the 12 months ending in April and now stands at $448,862, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The national realtors group said Thursday that in addition to strong price gains, the was a much higher volume of houses sold, too.

• MAP: House prices across Canada

Spring is always a popular timefor home sales, and this year's was no exception. But sales were 10 per cent higher last month than they were in April a year earlier.

Indeed, the numbers were pretty close to the best month ever. More than 50,000 homes changed hands in April only the third time ever that's happened during a month.

Toronto, Vancouver stay hot

As has been the case most months in recent memory, hot markets in Toronto and Vancouver are skewing the national numbers higher.

If those two cities are stripped out of the calculation, the average house sold in Canada in April cost $339,893, which is an annual gain of 3.4 per cent about twice the inflation rate.

House prices fell on an annualized basisin some markets, including Saskatoon, Moncton and Regina. The average house price in Calgary was$448,200 during the month, down by 0.5 per cent from March's level as the impact of lower oil prices continues to be felt.

"Today's data provided further evidence of the regional divergence in the Canadian housing market.," Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Dina Ignjatovic said.

"Toronto and Vancouver remain the hottest markets in the country, [but]mortgage rates could move higher later this year, dampening demand in these markets."