Canadian home prices continued their ascent in April, while the number of existing homes that changed hands came in slightly lower than a year ago, reports The Globe and Mail.
The average sales price across the country rose 7.6 per cent from a year earlier, to $409,708.
Averages can be distorted by changes in the types or locations of homes that are selling. If you take the Vancouver and Toronto areas out of the mix, the average price in the rest of the country was up 4.8 per cent.
But at an annual growth rate of around 5 per cent, Canadian home prices are continuing to rise faster than incomes are, something that is worrying to some economists.
The price gains came even as sales of homes over the Multiple Listing Service last month were 0.3 per cent below those in April 2013, according to data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
