Gatineau Housing Market Expected to Remain Stable in the Coming Year

Gatineau saw its most active December housing market in five years

GATINEAU, QC, Jan. 13, 2016 /CNW/ - The Royal LePage House Price Survey¹ and Market Survey Forecast released today showed that Gatineau home prices remained relatively flat during the fourth quarter, with the aggregate² home price in the region increasing 0.3 per cent year-over-year to $241,757. Overall, residential real estate activity slowed down following the federal election in October but bounced back across the majority of property types in December 2015.

"In autumn, consumers postponed their purchases due to the uncertain climate created by the federal election," said Richard Beaulieu, agency owner, Royal LePage Vallée de l'Outaouais. "With the elections now behind us, we are already seeing increased activity levels in the market."

"Looking ahead to 2016, we expect to see an increase in sales activity, which should bring inventory levels down.  This, accompanied by an increase demand, is projected to put some upward pressure on home prices in the region," said Beaulieu. "From an employment standpoint, the new federal government recently announced it would integrate close to 5,000 jobs in the National-Capital region to repatriate Statistics Canada's long-form census. In a region such as Gatineau, which has a high concentration of federal government employees, this news is positive for the local economy, and by extension for the residential real estate market." 

________________________________________

¹ Powered by Brookfield RPS

² Aggregate prices are calculated via a weighted average of the median values of homes for reported property types in the regions surveyed.

Downward pressure on prices and condominium inventory on the rise

The survey showed that the price of bungalows saw a moderate 3,0 per cent year-over-year increase to $234,574, while the price of two-storey homes decreased 1.5 per cent year-over-year, to $258,339. The price of condominiums remained relatively flat, settling at $205,826.

Bungalow sales volumes decreased by 7.9 per cent while in contrast sales for two-storey homes increased by 6.5 per cent. Condominium sales saw a dramatic 22.4 per cent increase, primarily as a result of buyers taking notice of the continued downward trend in prices for this housing type for a second consecutive quarter.

The El Niño effect

The start of December 2015 saw the warmest weather temperatures in recorded history, creating a uniquely busy housing market over the period.

"We doubled our sales for the month of December in comparison to the peak we saw five years ago," Beaulieu confirmed. "Buyers continued to visit houses because of the mild weather; if there had been snow, many would have waited until after the holidays or until the start of spring to buy." 

Gatineau region House Price Survey for the Fourth Quarter, 2015 

Two-Storey
2015 Q4 Median Home Price	Quarter-over-Quarter % Change	Year-over-Year % Change
$258,339	3.4%	-1.5%

Bungalow
2015 Q4 Median Home Price	Quarter-over-Quarter % Change	Year-over-Year % Change
$234,574	0.0%	3.0%

Condominium
2015 Q4 Median Home Price	Quarter-over-Quarter % Change	Year-over-Year % Change
$205,826	-3.3%	-0.03%

Aggregate
2015 Q4 Median Home Price	Quarter-over-Quarter % Change	Year-over-Year % Change
$241,757	1.3%	0.3%

About the Royal LePage House Price Survey

The Royal LePage House Price Survey provides information on the three most common types of housing in Canada, in 53 of the nation's largest real estate markets. Housing values in the Royal LePage House Price Survey are based on the Royal LePage National House Price Composite, produced quarterly through the use of company data in addition to data and analytics from its sister company, Brookfield RPS, the trusted source for residential real estate intelligence and analytics in Canada. Commentary on housing and forecast values is provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts, based on their opinions and market knowledge.

About Royal LePage

Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country's leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of more than 16,000 sales representatives in 600 offices across Canada. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women's and children's shelters, as well as educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is an affiliate of Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc., a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "TSX:BRE".

For more information, please visit http://www.royallepage.ca.

SOURCE Royal LePage Real Estate Services

Christine Tourigny, Kaiser Lachance Communications, [phone], ext. 302, [email protected]