Home prices climbed in Canada in May for the fifth month in a row, though Calgary suffered the sharpest tumble in the history of the Teranet-National Bank house price index.

Today’s reading of the index underscores what the Bank of Canada said yesterday is “apparent trifurcation” of the country’s housing market.

Nationally, home prices rose 0.9 per cent from April, and 4.6 per cent from a year earlier.

Notable in that annual measure were a 7.6-per cent surge in Toronto, a 6.2-per-cent jump in Vancouver, and a similar rise in Hamilton.

“The 0.9-per-cent rise was slightly below the May average of 1.1 per cent over the last 14 years,” senior economist Marc Pinsonneault said in releasing the numbers.

“This was because Calgary prices fell 3.3 per cent from April, the largest monthly drop recorded for that region, subtracting 0.3 percentage points from the gain of the composite index,” he added.

“The monthly slide left Calgary prices the lowest since April of last year. By contrast, all 10 of the other metropolitan markets entering into the composite index were up on the month, a breadth last seen in August 2014.”

The index dates back to early 1999, though earlier for some cities.

As for the two most eyebrow-raising Canadian markets, on a month-over-month basis, Toronto prices rose 1.6 per cent, and those in Vancouver 1.3 per cent.

The latest measure put the national index at a record high, and the same is true of prices in Toronto, Vancouver, Hamilton and Quebec City.

Prices in Calgary are down 1.4 per cent from a year ago, and 5 per cent from their peak of last October.

The decline in Calgary, Mr. Pinsonneault noted, was concentrated in houses rather than condominiums.

“This is consistent with anecdotal evidence that, so far, Calgary’s market for high-end expensive homes has borne the brunt of the collapse in oil prices,” he said.

“Historically low mortgage rates mostly support demand for lower-priced homes.”

Just yesterday, the Bank of Canada again raised a red flag about the housing market, though it stressed in its financial system review that it does not foresee a crash.

“Regional divergences in resale activity and house price growth have become more evident, with an apparent trifurcation of the national market,” the central bank said in the semi-annual document.

“Although house price growth on a national basis has slowed modestly, it continues to outpace income growth, and overvaluation in the Canadian housing market remains a concern.”

The wealth of many Canadians, notably the middle class, “remains vulnerable to a decline in house prices,” it added.

Sales and price increases are sharpest in British Columbia and Ontario, the Bank of Canada said, while Alberta and Saskatchewan have suffered in the wake of the oil shock.

Home price increases have slowed to about 4.5 per cent from 5 per cent in the Bank of Canada's December reading, and the central bank still sees home prices inflated by between 10 per cent and 30 per cent.

“As the economy gains strength and interest rates begin to normalize, the most likely scenario is one in which house prices stabilize in line with economic fundamentals,” the central bank said.