The average price of a Canadian home sold in June was $413,215, the Canadian Real Estate Association said today.

That figure is up 6.9 per cent compared to the average price 12 months ago.

Beyond prices, sales themselves rose by 11 per cent in June compared to the same month a year earlier.

Nationally, it was the strongest month for home sales in more than four years, dating back to March 2010.

The sales increase was broad-based, with about half of all markets showing gains.

Two cities, however, stood out:

Vancouver saw its strongest month for house sales in more than three years.

Montreal saw sales 10 per cent above the post-recession low the city hit earlier this year, when home-buying dried up ahead of the uncertainty of the Quebec election.

A harsh winter caused many sellers to delay listing their home in many parts of the country. - Gregory Klump, CREA economist

"At least some of the recent burst in new supply reflects the slow start to the year, when a harsh winter caused many sellers to delay listing their home in many parts of the country," CREA economist Gregory Klump said.

On the price side, the national average continues to be a tale of two cities, skewed higher by booming markets in Canada's two biggest housing markets — Toronto and Vancouver.

If those two cities are stripped out, the average Canadian house is worth $336,164 and the annual increase shrinks to 5.2 per cent.

"Outside of Toronto and Vancouver, prices were growing the fastest in Calgary, where the MLS home price index was up 10 per cent from a year ago," TD Bank economist Diana Petramala noted after the data came out. "Prices were relatively stable in areas where a number of years of overbuilding has left an inventory overhang, including Montreal, Quebec and most other urban markets in the Prairie region."