Average house price up at almost 10% pace in June

Canada's housing boom continued in June, with data released today from the Canadian Real Estate Association showing the average price of a home sold in Canada at $453,560 a rise of 9.6 per cent from the same month a year earlier.

"Low interest rates are unquestionably helping boost consumer confidence and home sales activity this summer," CREA president Pauline Aunger said.

As has been the case for awhile now, the realtor group said red hot markets in Toronto and Vancouver are skewing the national average higher.

"If these two markets are excluded from calculations," CREA said, "the average is a more modest $346,904 and the year-over-year gain is reduced to 3.1 per cent."

Prices rocketed higher even as the actual number of homes sold declined.

There were 0.8 per cent fewer homes sold in June compared to the previous month.

The following chart shows the increase (or decrease) in average house pricesin June in various Canadian cities, compared to May.