Montreal real estate is experiencing a downward trend, report suggests - Montreal Gazette

In Montreal, the decline was attributed to a “historically low inventory and a more typical summer season.” Quebec City also saw a drop.

Author of the article:

Montreal Gazette

A for sale sign on a residential property in Montreal. Photo by Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette files

The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) on Tuesday made public the residential real estate market statistics in August for the Montreal and Quebec City areas, recording a drop in the number of transactions in both regions.

In Montreal, the decline was attributed to a “historically low inventory of properties for sale and a more typical summer season in terms of sales (as opposed to last year when sales were exceptionally high due to the fact that the market was on pause during the spring).”

According to Charles Brant, director of the QPAREB’s market analysis department, “The overheated market is well established, with price increases that remain substantial compared to last year, (but) the proportion of sales concluded above the asking price is weakening. This reflects the shrinking pool of buyers with the financial capacity to buy in this market and explains the current stabilization of prices, particularly for single-family homes.”

The Montreal area recorded a total of 3,372 residential sales transactions in August, a 30-per-cent decrease compared with August 2020. Sales on the island of Montreal fell by 27 per cent compared with August 2020 and for a third consecutive month, single-family homes registered the largest decrease in sales, dropping 39 per cent.

The decline was also felt in the Montreal region’s outlying areas in August, with single family home sales in Vaudreuil-Soulanges down by 43 per cent; down 34 per cent on the South Shore and North Shore; down 27 per cent in Laval and down 13 per cent in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

All three main property categories registered a drop in sales compared with August of last year. Sales of single-family homes fell by 37 per cent, while sales of condominiums decreased by 28 per cent. Plexes were less affected by the August slowdown, as transactions fell by only 4 per cent.

Median prices continued to rise sharply in August, reaching $500,000 for single-family homes (up 17 per cent), $375,000 for condominiums, an increase of 20 per cent, and $679,750 for plexes, a jump of 13 per cent.

The report notes that “the Montreal real estate market is still showing significant overheating conditions, but the proportion of sales concluded above the asking price has weakened over the past four months.”

Meanwhile in Quebec City and for the third consecutive month, the number of transactions concluded in the region fell in August by 29 per cent, with 589 sales concluded through the real estate brokers’ Centris system.

In the first eight months of the year, sales in the Quebec City region grew by only 5 per cent compared with the 2020 period. In August, the South Shore of Quebec City experienced the most significant slowdown in the region (down 47 per cent), while the northern periphery and the agglomeration of Quebec City also registered notable decreases in sales, respectively recording drops in sales transactions of 40 and 20 per cent.