Fourth Consecutive Increase in Residential Sales in the Montréal Areain the Second Quarter of 2015

L'ÎLE-DES-SŒURS, QC, July 14, 2015 /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, 12,605 residential sales were concluded in the second quarter of 2015, a 10 per cent increase compared to the second quarter of last year. The number of transactions had also increased in the three previous quarters.

Click here to see the main residential statistics for the Montréal Metropolitan Area.

Residential sales increased in all five main areas of the Montréal CMA in the second quarter of 2015, with the Island of Montréal leading the way at 15 per cent. Sales rose by 3 per cent in Laval, by 12 per cent on the North Shore, by 5 per cent on the South Shore and by 7 per cent in Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

By property category, sales of plexes (+20 per cent) and single-family homes (+12 per cent) registered the largest increases, while condominium sales grew by 4 per cent in the second quarter.

The median price of single-family homes and plexes both increased by 2 per cent in the Montréal CMA to reach $290,000 and $446,000, respectively. The median price of condominiums stood at $236,458, which is 4 per cent higher than the second quarter of last year.

"We've seen a certain strengthening of price growth since the start of the year," said François Bissonnette, President of the Board of Directors of the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB). "In particular, price growth of condominiums has been relatively strong, even though it's a buyer's market for this property category," he added.

Despite the generalized vitality of sales in the Montréal CMA, selling times became longer. On average, it took 92 days, 95 days and 122 days, respectively, to sell a plex, a single-family home and a condominium in the second quarter of 2015.

Finally, in terms of supply, there was an average of 35,842 residential properties for sale in the second quarter of the year, 3 per cent more than in the second quarter of 2014. However, this was the smallest increase in supply since the upward trend began at the end of 2010.

Residential Sales in Québec Register a Fourth Consecutive Quarterly Increase

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, 23,753 residential sales were concluded in the second quarter of 2015, a 9 per cent increase compared to the second quarter of 2014 and the fourth consecutive quarterly increase in sales.

Sales increased for all three property categories in the second quarter of 2015. The number of plex (2 to 5 dwellings) transactions jumped by 13 per cent, while the number of single-family home and condominium transactions rose by 9 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.

All six of the province's Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) registered sales growth in the second quarter of the year. The largest increases were observed in the Gatineau, Sherbrooke and Montréal CMAs, at 12, 11 and 10 per cent, respectively. The Trois-Rivières (+6 per cent), Québec City (+5 per cent) and Saguenay (+4 per cent) CMAs also performed well in terms of sales.

Among the province's smaller urban centres, the agglomerations of Val-d'Or (+55 per cent), Saint-Sauveur (+36 per cent), Sainte-Adèle (+28 per cent) and Thetford Mines (+26 per cent) stood out with the largest increases in sales.

In terms of prices, single-family homes ($235,000) and condominiums ($220,000) both registered a moderate increase in median price, at 2 per cent, compared to the second quarter of 2014.

Finally, the supply of residential properties for sale continued to rise as there were, on average, 5 per cent more listings in the second quarter of 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014. "This was the smallest increase in supply since the third quarter of 2010," said Paul Cardinal, Manager of the QFREB's Market Analysis Department. "Generally speaking, market conditions tend to stabilize. The number of months of inventory for single-family homes and condominiums even decreased slightly in the second quarter of the year in several of the province's urban centres," he added.

About the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board

The Greater Montréal Real Estate Board is a non-profit organization with more than 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 under the same address. Visit Centris.ca to obtain more information and quarterly statistics for the province of Québec.

For more information about the Centris^® statistics for each of the province's regions, don't miss the upcoming publication of the QFREB Barometer.

SOURCE Fédération des chambres immobilières du Québec

Sarah Hamel, Tel.: [phone], ext. 216, [email protected]