L'ÎLE-DES-SŒURS, QC, April 14, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - 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.
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Regional press releases are available on the QFREB website in the Newsroom section. |
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 information on Centris® statistics for each of the province's regions, consult the QFREB's Barometers.
SOURCE Fédération des chambres immobilières du Québec
Sarah Hamel, Tel.: 514-762-0212, ext. 216, [email protected]
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