MONTREAL —
It remains a real estate sellers’ market in Montreal though sales were down by almost 20 per cent in December from the same month in 2020.
A Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) report said real estate sales dropped by 19 per cent in December, but 2021 sales ranks second for most active December sales on record with 3,675 sales.
“This downturn is consistent with a marked decrease in new listings which is always more significant in December,” said market analysis director Charles Brant.
Brant said buyers are likely trying to make a purchase before announced interest rate hikes in 2022.
The median price for a single-family home in December was $525,000, just north of the 2021 aveage of $495,000.
In 2020, December’s average was $430,000 and the yearly average was $400,000.
The average price of a condo in 2021 was $360,000 (up from $305,000 in 2020) and plexes averaged a $690,000 price tag (up from $615,000 in 2020).
“Consequently, the ongoing marked market imbalance in favour of sellers continues to result in a sharp rise in prices on the outskirts of the Island of Montreal, all property categories combined,” Brant said.
While sales and listings both dropped by 25 per cent, the average price of single-family homes increased 22 per cent compared to 2020 even though single-family home and income property sales dropped by 26 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.
Condo sales also were down by 10 per cent.
Sales decreased most sharply in Laval (27 per cent), the North Shore (26 per cent), the South Shore and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (18 per cent) and the Island of Montreal (14 per cent).
“On the island, prices for single-family homes have tended to level off in the past few months, particularly in areas where median prices are reaching levels that are unaffordable for a large proportion of potential buyers, thus favouring Montreal’s peripheral areas,” said Brant.
Much like sales, listings have declined with condos dropping by 29 per cent, single-family homes by 26 per cent, and plexes by six per cent.
In 2021, total sales ($29,189,341) were up 16 per cent from 2020 ($25,117,064,753).
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.
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.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
