L’ÎLE-DES-SŒURS, Québec, Sept. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) has just released its most recent residential real estate market statistics for the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), based on the real estate brokers’ Centris provincial database.
In total, 4,878 residential sales transactions were concluded in August 2020. This represents a 39 per cent increase compared to August of last year and the highest number of transactions ever recorded for a month of August since the Centris system began compiling market data (2000).
“The loss of transactions due to the confinement period in early spring have almost all been recovered thanks to phenomenal sales activity in July and August, which are usually among the quietest months of the year,” said Julie. Saucier, president and chief executive officer of the QPAREB. “The pandemic is clearly having an unexpected impact on buyer behaviour as there is a renewed interest in buying properties, particularly single-family homes. Against all expectations, this enthusiasm is supported by a notable increase in the savings rate of many buyers in recent months. The situation is particularly present in the suburbs, where cases of overbidding are increasing and market conditions are still extremely favourable to sellers,” she added.
Sales by geographic area
Geographically, all six of the Montreal CMA’s main areas registered a remarkable increase in sales in August. Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the North Shore and Laval led the way with respective increases of 62, 51 and 48 per cent, compared to August of last year. The South Shore (+39 per cent), the Island of Montreal (+29 per cent) and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (+17 per cent) also performed well.
Sales by property category
Across the CMA, single-family home sales (2,601 transactions) registered the largest increase at 47 per cent. Condominium sales jumped by 36 per cent (1,861 transactions), while sales of plexes (two to five dwellings) rose by 12 per cent (410 transactions).
Prices
Property prices surged across the CMA in August for all three property categories.
The median price of single-family homes increased by 24 per cent compared to August of last year, reaching $427,500. This was the highest increase ever recorded since Centris began compiling statistics. It should be noted that single-family home sales above $1 million more than doubled compared to August of last year (+136 per cent), which had an impact on the increase in median price.
The median price of condominiums stood at $312,000, a 12 per cent increase compared to August 2019, while the median price of plexes stood at $599,500, a 13 per cent increase.
Number of properties for sale
With 12,953 active residential listings in the Centris system, the number of properties for sale continued to drop, falling by 21 per cent year over year. The last time there was a similar level of active listings in the Montreal CMA was back in August of 2003.
For August 2020 and year-to-date statistics charts, click here.
About the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers
The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) is a non-profit association that brings together more than 13,000 real estate brokers and agencies. It is responsible for promoting and defending their interests while taking into account the issues facing the profession and the various professional and regional realities of its members. The QPAREB is also an important player in many real estate dossiers, including the implementation of measures that promote homeownership. The Association reports on Quebec’s residential real estate market statistics, provides training, tools and services relating to real estate, and facilitates the collection, dissemination and exchange of information. The QPAREB is headquartered in Quebec City and has its administrative offices in Montreal. It has two subsidiaries: Centris Inc. and the Collège de l’immobilier du Québec. Follow its activities at qpareb.ca or via its social media pages: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
About Centris
Centris.ca is Quebec’s real estate industry website for consumers, grouping all properties for sale by a real estate broker under the same address. Société Centris provides real estate industry stakeholders with access to real estate data and a wide range of technology tools. Centris also manages the collaboration system used by more than 13,000 real estate brokers in Quebec.
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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.
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.