Renewed interest and multiple offers re-emerging in Montréal housing market

    
    - The large number of first-time buyers and low supply of new listings
    are helping to increase average house prices -
    

MONTRÉAL, Oct. 8 /CNW/ - According to a House Price Survey released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services, the Montréal housing market is well on the road to recovery with the re-emergence of multiple offers for certain types of homes, an unusual trend since the economic downturn. The high number of first-time buyers and a low inventory of listings appear to be contributing to an increase in average house prices while spurring more competition amongst buyers.

During the third quarter, the Montréal market posted increases across the housing types surveyed. The average price of a standard condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $213,278 compared to the same period in 2008. The average price of a standard two storey house grew 2.1 per cent year-over-year to $343,480 , while the average cost of a detached bungalow climbed to $240,045 , 1.7 per cent higher than a year ago.

"The three housing types surveyed have all seen prices rise over the third quarter," says Dominic St-Pierre, Director, Royal LePage Real Estate Services for the Québec region. "The situation can be explained with historically low interest rates and an increasing number of first-time buyers entering the market. Detached bungalows and condominiums, generally more affordable, represent the most sought-after properties for this demographic. Consumer confidence is also contributing to the rise in house prices. People are generally optimistic about the economy and, as a result, they are more inclined to make major purchases and large investments, like home buying."

"The Montréal region has seen multiple offers resurface over the past few months, which is mostly due to the market's recovery," says Dominic St-Pierre. "There was a time when multiple offers were only associated with high-end properties. Today, we find these offers on both affordable and average priced homes. While the inventory remains high for condominiums, detached bungalows are harder to find at the moment. It is therefore not surprising to see a number of offers being made for this type of property. Multiple offers generally include three to five offers on a single home and the sale price will sometimes climb to 15 per cent above the initial price. What we are seeing is the return of a seller's market. Buyers must act quickly, or they risk loosing their favourite property."

"Sale prices are on the rise for most housing types across various sectors in Montréal. The sectors that have a number of affordable and average priced properties such as the east end of Montréal, Ville St-Laurent, Verdun, LaSalle, Kirkland, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Boucherville, St-Lambert and St-Bruno, have also seen a significant increase. As always, there are exceptions to the rule. While affordable and average priced homes are of primary interest to most buyers, the higher end of the market has also performed well, most notably in NDG, Beaconsfield and Ville Mont-Royal."

    
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                                            Detached Bungalows
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                           Q3 2009    Last Quarter     Q3 2008      Bungalow
    Market                 Average         Avg         Average      % Change
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    Beaconsfield           300,000       295,000       285,000          5.3%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Boucherville           240,000       238,687       239,000          0.4%
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    Côte-St-Luc            245,000       242,000       240,000          2.1%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Dorval                 250,000       247,000       247,500          1.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Lachine                230,000       227,000       227,500          1.1%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Lasalle/Verdun         206,000       205,000       202,000          2.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Montréal West              n/a           n/a           n/a          n/a
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Notre-Dame-de-Grâce        n/a           n/a           n/a          n/a
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    St-Lambert             217,360       205,000       217,360          0.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    St-Bruno               232,000       229,500       230,000          0.9%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Westmount                  n/a           n/a           n/a          n/a
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Montréal               240,045       236,148       236,045          1.7%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Standard Two Storey
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                           Q3 2009    Last Quarter     Q3 2008      2 Storey
    Market                 Average         Avg         Average      % Change
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Beaconsfield           375,000       375,000       360,000          4.2%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Boucherville           289,333       277,250       289,444          0.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Côte-St-Luc                n/a           n/a           n/a          n/a
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Dorval                 252,000       248,000       246,000          2.4%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Lachine                240,000       236,000       232,500          3.2%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Lasalle/Verdun             n/a           n/a           n/a          n/a
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Montréal West          370,000       365,000       364,000          1.6%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Notre-Dame-de-Grâce    382,000       380,000       369,000          3.5%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    St-Lambert             243,984       234,600       241,488          1.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    St-Bruno               279,000       275,000       275,000          1.5%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Westmount              660,000       650,000       650,000          1.5%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Montréal               343,480       337,872       336,381          2.1%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Standard Condominium
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Q3 2009    Last Quarter     Q3 2008         Condo
    Market                 Average         Avg         Average      % Change
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Beaconsfield               n/a           n/a           n/a          n/a
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Boucherville           177,000       177,800       173,600          2.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Côte-St-Luc            236,000       232,000       228,000          3.5%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Dorval                 220,000       216,000       216,000          1.9%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Lachine                253,000       250,000       246,500          2.6%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Lasalle/Verdun         163,000       167,000       159,000          2.5%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Montréal West              n/a           n/a           n/a          n/a
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Notre-Dame-de-Grâce    234,000       232,000       229,000          2.2%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    St-Lambert             177,000       177,000       153,920         15.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    St-Bruno               174,500       172,000       168,000          3.9%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Westmount              285,000       260,000       265,000          7.5%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Montréal               213,278       209,311       204,336          4.4%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

The Royal LePage Survey of Canadian House Prices is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind in Canada , with information on seven types of housing in over 250 neighbourhoods from coast to coast. This release references an abbreviated version of the survey, which highlights house price trends for the three most common types of housing in Canada in 80 communities across the country. A complete database of past and present surveys is available on the Royal LePage Web site at www.royallepage.ca, and current figures will be updated following the end of the first quarter. A printable version of the third quarter 2009 survey will be available online on November 6, 2009 .

Housing values in the Royal LePage Survey are Royal LePage opinions on fair market value in each location, based on local data and market knowledge provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts. Historical data is available for some areas back to the early 1970s.

About Royal LePage

Royal LePage is Canada's leading provider of franchise services to residential real estate brokerages, with a network of nearly 14,000 real estate professionals in over 600 locations across Canada . Royal LePage believes in the importance of giving back to the community and is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation. The Shelter Foundation is dedicated exclusively to funding women's shelters and violence prevention and education programs. Royal LePage is managed by Brookfield Real Estate Services, and is part of a brand family that includes Royal LePage, Johnston and Daniel, and La Capitale Real Estate Network. An affiliated company, Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund, is a TSX listed income trust, trading under the symbol "BRE.UN."

For more information, visit www.royallepage.ca.

For further information: Valérie Dupuis, Fleishman Hillard Inc., [phone], ext. 312, [email protected]; Tammy Gilmer, Director, Public Relations and National Communications, Royal LePage Real Estate Services, [phone]