Seven months into the pandemic, confidence remains high, with intentions to buy up 5% since March 2020
LAVAL, QC, Nov. 2, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The second phase of the RE/MAX Real Estate Index, gathered through a large regional semiannual survey on whether or not Québec residents intended on buying or selling their homes1 and other related topics, was improved from its original version to better assess the impact of the pandemic on respondents' intentions.
The first phase of the RE/MAX Real Estate Index was conducted in the last two weeks of March 2020, when lockdown measures had just been put in place.
"This second stage measures how the pandemic is impacting the intentions of Québec buyers and sellers," said Sylvain Dansereau, Executive Vice President of RE/MAX Québec. "We wished to go beyond industry data, which only provides a statistical profile, and survey intentions to identify the trends that will dominate the next five years. Data confirms what our brokers observe in the field: Québec real estate market is dynamic and is expected to remain active."
First finding: Confidence remains high
"One point is clear: seven months into the pandemic, confidence remains high in the real estate market, with 45% of respondents thinking that they will likely purchase a home in the next five years, which represents a 5% increase since March," added Sylvain Dansereau. "Among respondents aged 18 to 34, home buying is highly appealing, since 70% have the intention to acquire a home."
Second finding: The popularity of the city, the suburb and the country
"While remote work is growing in popularity, we have not observed an urban exodus, but a push toward the country. We are closely monitoring this phenomenon since it could have an effect on prices," stated Sylvain Dansereau.
The city's appeal remains stable at 26% (28% in March), while there are fluctuations in the popularity of the suburb and the country. Accordingly, 40% of prospective buyers would rather live in the suburbs, down 6% from March, while those preferring the country increased by the same percentage, to 27%.
However, for households with at least one child under 18, the suburb is still clearly the top choice (49% vs. 22% for the city and 25% for the country).
Trends among buyers: looking for a yard, an office and high-speed Internet
The pandemic impacted two thirds of the respondents intending on buying a property, especially young families.
A quarter of the respondents are looking to buy a home with a yard or a larger yard, 20% want to move out of a main urban centre and 16% are looking for a larger house where they could set up a home office. However, this trend is not as prevailing in Sherbrooke (9%) and in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (7%).
The availability of high-speed Internet services in the region was a factor for 15% of the respondents.
Trends among sellers: confidence to get the asking price, an increase in selling intention and renovations
Across the province, respondents are increasingly confident of getting the asking price (91% vs. 83% in March). Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean is the region where the confidence level is the lowest at 75%.
A growing number (41% vs. 37% in March) of respondents think it is likely that they will sell their residential property in the next five years. Among them, 60% have completed a renovation to help sell their house or get a better price. Future sellers may postpone the sale of their home for the following key reasons: the high price of other properties (31%), economic insecurity caused by the pandemic (24%) and the competitiveness on the current market (22%).
Significant regional disparities
In the Greater Montréal area, the intention to buy a residential property is on the rise, from 43% in March to 49%.
In the Québec (86%), Trois-Rivière/Drummondville (89%) and Sherbrooke (85%) regions, respondents are especially confident to be able to stay within their budget. Conversely, Gatineau residents are significantly less confident (71%) than during the first wave (83%).
Residents of the Greater Québec area and Sherbrooke stand out among owners intending on selling in the next five years, due to their significantly lower intentions (29% and 26%, respectively) compared to the provincial average (41%). Such intention peaks in the Greater Montréal area, at 45%. Such increased supply foreshadows a dynamic housing market and attractive opportunities for buyers often hindered by the limited supply.
"RE/MAX will keep a close eye on how the pandemic will impact buyers' and sellers' intentions and criteria when looking for a property," added Sylvain Dansereau.
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The RE/MAX Six Index, conducted by Léger between September 14 and 20, 2020, targeting 1,401 Québec residents in six regions. The margin of error is +/- 2.6%, 19 times out of 20. |
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SOURCE RE/MAX Québec
To get the RE/MAX Real Estate Index, for more information or to schedule an interview with Sylvain Dansereau or a RE/MAX Québec regional representative, please contact: Valérie Lavoie, Massy Forget Langlois Public Relations, Cell: 438-885-9135, [email protected]; Jessica Lavoie, RE/MAX Québec Inc., O.: 450-668-7743 or cell.: 514-826-0070, [email protected]
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