L'ÎLE-DES-SŒURS, QC, April 14, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB) has released its most recent residential sales statistics for the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), based on the real estate brokers' Centris® provincial database. In total, 10,601 residential sales were concluded in the first quarter of 2016, a 10 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of last year. This was the seventh consecutive quarterly increase in sales, and the longest sales streak since 2000, the year in which this statistic was first recorded.
Click here to see the main statistics for the Montréal Metropolitan Area's residential real estate market.
Here are the main statistics for the first quarter of 2016, as compared to the first quarter of last year.
Sales
- The 10,601 transactions concluded from January to March represent the best start to the year in four years in terms of residential sales in the Montréal area.
- A 20 per cent increase in plex (2 to 5 dwellings) transactions was observed in the first quarter of 2016, while condominium sales grew by 12 per cent and single-family home sales by 8 per cent.
- Sales increased in all five main geographic areas of the Montréal CMA: Vaudreuil-Soulanges posted the largest increase (+ 22 per cent), followed by the South Shore (+ 11 per cent), the Island of Montréal (+ 9 per cent), the North Shore (+ 9 per cent) and Laval (+ 7 per cent).
- Sales of properties at $500,000 or more, all property categories combined, jumped by 21 per cent across the CMA.
Prices
- The median price of plexes ($455,000) and single-family homes ($285,000) rose by 5 per cent and 2 per cent respectively, while condominiums ($230,000) registered a small decrease of 1 per cent.
- The median price of single-family homes grew by 3 per cent on the Island of Montréal ($395,000) and on the North Shore ($244,000), the largest increase among the five main areas of the CMA.
- Half of all condominiums on the Island of Montréal were sold at a price higher than $276,540. This represents a 4 per cent increase year over year, and is mainly due to significant sales in the $500,000+ price range.
Active listings
- 34,208 properties displayed a "For Sale" sign in the Montréal CMA in the first quarter of 2016, a 5 per cent drop compared to the first quarter of last year.
- The supply of single-family homes and plexes fell by 8 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, while that of condominiums remained stable compared to the first quarter of last year.
Market conditions remain relatively balanced across the Montréal metropolitan area for single-family homes and plexes. "For condominiums, although there is still an excess supply, the number of active listings was stable in the first quarter of the year, after registering 21 consecutive quarterly increases," noted Daniel Dagenais, President of the Board of Directors of the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB). "Because condominium sales are increasing, market conditions have started to tighten for this market segment," he added.
Seventh Consecutive Quarter of Growth on the Province's Residential Real Estate Market
The Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) has released its most recent residential sales statistics for the province of Québec, based on the real estate brokers' Centris® provincial database. In total, 20,308 sales were concluded in the first quarter of 2016, an 8 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of last year and the seventh consecutive increase in sales. It was also the best start to the year in three years.
Click here to view the main residential statistics for the province of Québec.
All census metropolitan areas (CMAs) registered sales growth in the first quarter of the year with the exception of Saguenay, which posted a 9 per cent decrease in sales. The Gatineau (+13 per cent), Montréal (+10 per cent) and Sherbrooke (+10 per cent) CMAs set the tone, while increases were more modest for Trois-Rivières (+4 per cent) and Québec City (+2 per cent).
Among the smaller urban centres, the agglomeration of Val-d'Or stood out with an impressive 65 per cent increase in sales for January to March 2016. Results from the agglomerations of Baie-Comeau (+36 per cent), Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (+30 per cent) and Thetford Mines (+21 per cent) are also worth mentioning. In contrast, the most significant declines were observed in the agglomerations of Mont-Tremblant (-31 per cent), Rivière-du-Loup (-28 per cent), Sept-Îles (-29 per cent) and Shawinigan (-20 per cent).
Across the province, prices rose at a rate similar to inflation, with the median price of single-family homes reaching $233,000, which is 2 per cent higher than in the first quarter of 2015. The Gatineau and Montréal CMAs topped the list with respective increases of 3 per cent and 2 per cent in the median price of single-family homes. The Québec City CMA was stable with the median price of single-family homes treading water at $246,000.
"Interestingly, after five years of continuous increases, the number of properties for sale in Québec decreased in the first quarter of 2016 for the first time since the second quarter of 2010," noted Paul Cardinal, Manager of the QFREB's Market Analysis Department. "The decrease in active listings across the province is primarily due to a 5 per cent decline in supply in the Montréal region," he added.
Note: Regional press releases are available on the QFREB website in the Newsroom section.
About the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board
The Greater Montréal Real Estate Board is a non-profit organization with close to 9,300 members: real estate brokers. Its mission is to actively promote and protect its members' professional and business interests in order for them to successfully meet their business objectives.
About the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards
The Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards is a non-profit organization composed of Québec's 12 real estate boards and the more than 13,000 real estate brokers who are their members. Its mission is to promote and protect the interests of Québec's real estate industry so that the boards and their members can successfully meet their business objectives.
About Centris.ca
Centris.ca is Québec's real estate industry website for consumers, grouping all properties for sale by a real estate broker – more than 100,000 – under the same address. Visit Centris.ca to obtain more information and quarterly statistics for the province of Québec.
For more detailed statistics about the Montréal area, read the QFREB Barometer.
SOURCE Fédération des chambres immobilières du Québec
Sarah Hamel, Tel.: 514-762-0212, ext. 216, [email protected]
Share this article