Small Increase in Residential Sales in Montréal Area in First Quarter of 2015

ÎLE-DES-SOEURS, QC, April 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, 9,687 residential sales were concluded in the first quarter of 2015, a 1 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of last year. The number of residential sales had also increased by 1 per cent in the two previous quarters.

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

From January to March 2015, sales of single-family homes and condominiums both increased by 2 per cent, while plex (2 to 5 dwellings) sales fell by 8 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2014.   

Geographically, the South Shore and the Island of Montréal registered an increase in sales in the first quarter of the year, at 9 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. Sales remained stable in Laval, while the North Shore and Vaudreuil-Soulanges posted respective decreases of 6 per cent and 11 per cent.

The median price of single-family homes and plexes both increased by 2 per cent in the Montréal CMA in the first quarter of 2015 to reach $280,965 and $435,000, respectively. As for condominiums, despite market conditions that benefited buyers, price growth accelerated. The median price of condominiums across the CMA stood at $232,903, which is 4 per cent higher than in the first quarter of 2014. "This was the largest quarterly increase in condominium prices since the fourth quarter of 2012," said Diane Ménard, Vice-President of the GMREB Board of Directors and spokesperson for the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) for the Montréal area. "The increase in the supply of condominiums for sale was modest in the first months of 2015 and the number of months of inventory appears to be stabilizing," she added.

Finally, selling times increased slightly for all three property categories. In the first quarter of 2015, it took an average of 97 days to sell a single-family home in the Montréal area, which is 4 days more than during the first quarter of last year. The average selling time for condominiums was 123 days (+4 days), while that of plexes was 93 days
(+6 days).

Third Consecutive Quarterly Increase in Residential Sales in Québec

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, 18,893 residential sales were concluded in the first quarter of 2015, a 3 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of last year and the third consecutive quarterly increase in sales. Sales of single-family homes and condominiums grew by 4 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively, while plex (2 to 5 dwellings) sales fell by 4 per cent.

Among the province's six Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), the three most populous CMAs experienced sales increases in first quarter of the year: Gatineau (1 per cent), Montréal (1 per cent) and Québec City (5 per cent). The Saguenay and Sherbrooke CMAs registered decreases of 2 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, after two quarters of increases. Finally, Trois-Rivières posted the largest drop in sales, at 5 per cent, ending four consecutive quarters of strong increases.

The province's agglomerations as a whole also presented a positie balance of sales in the first quarter of 2015, with a 6 per cent increase in residential transactions compared to the first quarter of 2014. Several agglomerations clearly stood out with sales increases of at least 20 per cent: Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Shawinigan, Rivière-du-Loup, Mont-Tremblant, Val-d'Or, Thetford Mines, Saint-Lin-Laurentides, Sept-Îles, Rouyn-Noranda and Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts. In contrast, the agglomerations of Baie-Comeau and Drummondville posted the largest decreases, at 13 per cent each.

Across the province, half of all single-family homes sold for more than $228,000 in the first quarter of 2015, a 1 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of 2014. This was the first real increase in the median price of single-family homes after four quarters of stabilization.

Geographically, the Montréal (+2 per cent) and Québec City (+1 per cent) CMAs registered an increase in the median price of single-family homes in the first quarter of 2015. The median price of single-family homes in the Sherbrooke and Gatineau CMAs remained stable, while the Saguenay (-3 per cent) and Trois-Rivières (-2 per cent) CMAs registered a decrease in the median price of single-family homes.

The supply of properties for sale continued to rise in Québec as there were, on average, 82,993 residential properties registered on the Centris^® system in the first three months of 2015, which represents an 8 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2014. "Although the supply of residential properties is growing, we see that the increase is smaller than those observed in the last two years," explained Paul Cardinal, Manager of the QFREB's Market Analysis Department. "The number of condominiums for sale increased by only 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2015. This was the smallest increase since the third quarter of 2010," 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 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.

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.

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]