OTTAWA - The downturn in Canadian housing prices appears to be a thing of the past, economists say, citing a report showing that home values rose for the second straight month in June.

After eight consecutive monthly declines, prices gained 1.5 per cent in June following May’s two per cent advance with the rebound in prices showing up in even some of the markets hardest hit by the recession-driven housing decline, according to the Teranet-National Bank report.

“The worst of home price deflation in Canada is behind us,'’ said National Bank senior economist Marc Pinsonneault.

A “huge'’ improvement in market conditions combined with the second consecutive month of gains suggest this is not merely a temporary reprieve from a correction that knocked 6.8 per cent off average home prices since they peaked in August 2008, Pinsonneault said.

“On balance, there are signs that house prices are slowly staging small improvements. And this indicator joins existing home prices as being firmly on the rise,'’ added TD Securities economics strategist Charmaine Buskas.

Canwest News Service