In Montreal, the decline was attributed to a “historically low inventory and a more typical summer season.” Quebec City also saw a drop.
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.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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