Home Sales in Canada have increased slightly by 0.8 percent from March to April, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said.

The statistics released by CREA Tuesday showed that activity was either up or held steady in half of all local markets in April, with Toronto and Calgary posting the biggest monthly increases for the second month in a row.

According to CREA, activity gains in Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, as well as London and St. Thomas also contributed greatly to the national sales increase in April, offsetting monthly declines in Ottawa, Windsor-Essex, Quebec City, the Fraser Valley, and Vancouver.

"A number of Canadian housing market trends in April remained intact from the previous month," said Wayne Moen, president of CREA. "Trends in Vancouver and Toronto continue to diverge. These two housing markets have an obvious influence on national statistics and a high profile, but Canada is a big place. Trends in housing markets differ across Canada."

The actual national average price for homes sold, which is not seasonally adjusted, was 375,810 Canadian dollars in April 2012, up 0.9 percent from the same month last year, CREA said.

While more or less flat compared to last spring on a national basis, average sale prices were up on a year-over-year basis in 80 percent of all local markets in April, CREA said.

"It bears repeating that the national average price was skewed higher last spring by record level high-end home sales in Vancouver's priciest neighborhoods, and that a replay of this phenomenon was not expected this year," said Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist. "Sales data confirm that high-end activity in Vancouver is well off the peak levels reached at this time last year, which is exerting a gravitational pull on the national average price."

Earlier this month, The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,799 in April, the lowest total for the month in the region since 2001.

"By contrast, activity in Toronto is stronger this spring than it was last spring. Higher-priced sales activity there is on the rise and buoying average prices. As the most active housing market in Canada, Toronto is the biggest factor supporting national average price," Klump said.

CREA is one of Canada's largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 104,000 realtors working through more than 100 real estate boards and associations.