OTTAWA — A measure of home prices in major Canadian markets was up in November compared with a year earlier for the second straight month.

The Teranet-National Bank home index, released Wednesday, was up 2.6 per cent on an annual basis for November. The last two gains followed prices being down on a year-over-year basis for 10 straight months. The latest gains put the overall index just 0.1 per cent shy of its peak in August 2008.

The index has been up on a monthly basis seven consecutive times, though the 0.8 per cent rise was the first time in six months it has been less than 1.2 per cent.

Calgary was the only city among the six in the index where prices remained below year-earlier levels. Calgary home prices were down 2.1 per cent from a year before, but ahead 0.6 per cent for the month.

Vancouver skewed the month-to-month gain with its own 1.9 per cent rise in November. Without Vancouver, the gain in this composite index would have been just 0.5 per cent.

Vancouver’s prices were up one per cent from a year earlier, though they remain down 2.3 per cent from their June 2008 peak, authors of the report said.

In Toronto, prices were up 0.6 per cent for the month and 4.6 per cent from a year earlier. Montreal’s home prices were ahead 0.1 per cent on monthly basis in November and 3.8 per cent year-over-year.

“On balance, this report provides further evidence to support the general view that the recovery in the Canadian housing market is gaining further momentum, and suggests that the recent gains in home prices are being sustained,” Millan Mulraine, economics strategist with TD Securities, said in a research note.

The Teranet-National Bank index is based on prices in land registries of homes that have been sold at least twice.