Third Consecutive Quarterly Increase in Residential Sales in Québec

ÎLE-DES-SŒURS, QC, April 14, 2015 /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, 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.

Click here to see the main residential statistics for the province of Québec.

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 positive 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.

Note: Regional press releases (in French) are also available on the QFREB website, in the "Newsroom" section.

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]