The 2018 Montréal Residential Real Estate Market: An Historic Sales Record and a Sustained Rise in Prices

ÎLE-DES-SŒURS, QC, Jan. 14, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - The 2018 residential real estate market statistics for the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), based on the real estate brokers' Centris provincial database, are now available. In total, 46,753 sales were made in 2018, a 5 per cent increase compared to 2017. This was the fourth consecutive annual increase.

Given the context of tightened mortgage rules, the performance of the Montréal real estate market in 2018 was well beyond what was anticipated. The increase in sales was so remarkable that the Montréal region set a new record in 2018 for the number of transactions.

Here are the highlights of 2018:

Sales

• All property categories experienced an upsurge in sales in 2018, with condominiums making a strong showing with sales up by 14 per cent. Plexes of two to five units as well as single-family homes posted gains of 3 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.
• All geographic sectors, except for Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (-1 per cent), saw sales grow in 2018: the South Shore (+11 per cent), Laval (+6 per cent), the North Shore (+5 per cent), Vaudreuil-Soulanges (+3 per cent) and the Island of Montréal (+3 per cent).
• Luxury properties had a good year, with sales of single-family homes over $1,000,000 growing by 18 per cent and condominiums over $500,000 by 30 per cent.

Prices

• Price growth continued at a good pace in 2018: the median price of single-family homes ($323,000) rose by 4 per cent. After the 7 per cent increase in 2017, this is the biggest price increase in eight years.
• As for condominiums, the median price increased by 3 per cent to reach $255,000. This is a continuation of what took place in 2017 when prices also rose by 3 per cent.
• The median price for plexes reached $514,000 in 2018, an increase of 8 per cent, double the 4 per cent growth recorded in 2017.

Active Listings and Market Conditions

• For the third consecutive year, the number of properties for sale on the Centris system fell in 2018 to 22,890, a sharp decrease of 17 per cent.
• Generally speaking, 2018 ended with market conditions clearly in favour of sellers for single-family homes, condominiums and plexes. The scarcity of supply of single-family homes as compared to the demand is undeniable on the Island of Montréal, where the number of months of inventory is slightly less than five.
• The portrait is different for condominiums. While the market was balanced in 2017, market conditions now give sellers the advantage during negotiations.

Record High Residential Sales for Québec in 2018

The Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) has released the 2018 residential real estate market statistics for the province of Québec based on the real estate brokers' Centris provincial database. In total, 86,557 sales were concluded in 2018, a 5 per cent increase compared to 2017. This was the fourth consecutive increase and set a new sales record, surpassing the high of 82,541 transactions reached in 2017.

"Once again, the Québec residential real estate market ended the year on an excellent note with 18,858 transactions in the fourth quarter, 6 per cent more than the same period in 2017," stated Yanick Desnoyers, Manager of the QFREB's Market Analysis Department. "This was the best result in 18 years for a fourth quarter," he added.

Here are the highlights of 2018:

Sales

• Condominium sales jumped by 13 per cent, while single-family homes and plexes each posted more modest gains of 3 per cent.
• Saguenay and Gatineau took the lead among metropolitan areas with increases of 11 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. Notable increases were recorded in Sherbrooke (+6 per cent), Montréal (+5 per cent) and Québec City (+4 per cent), while activity declined in the Trois-Rivières metropolitan area (-1 per cent).
• In the smaller urban centres, the agglomerations of Matane (+30 per cent), Mont-Laurier (+29 per cent), Cowansville (+19 per cent), Rivière-du-Loup (+17 per cent) and Saint- Hyacinthe (+15 per cent) posted the strongest growth in sales.

Prices

• Median prices continued to rise for the second year in a row across the province. The median price of both single-family homes and condominiums increased by 3 per cent to reach $250,000 and $237,000, respectively.
• The median price of single-family homes in the agglomeration of Rawdon jumped by 12 per cent to reach $169,900. The agglomerations of Rouyn-Noranda and Mont-Tremblant saw the median price of single-family homes increase by 11 per cent to $228,288 and $271,250, respectively.
• As for condominiums, the agglomeration of Mont-Tremblant is once again at the top of the charts, with 12 per cent growth and a median price of $255,000. Conversely, Québec City is the metropolitan area posting the smallest increase in condominium median prices (+1 per cent).

Number of Properties for Sale

• From January to December 2018, there were, on average, 64,289 active listings on the Centris system, a 9 per cent drop compared to 2017. This is the lowest level since 2011.
• Inventories decreased in almost all regions of Québec, with the exception of La Tuque (+ 25 per cent), Sainte-Adèle (+15 per cent) and Sept-Îles (+5 per cent).

Finally, selling times across the province have shortened compared to one year ago: it took an average of 107 days (-5 days) for a single-family home to sell, 111 days (-13 days) for a condominium to sell and 98 days (-4 days) for a plex to sell.

About the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards

The Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) is a non-profit organization representing the province's 11 real estate boards and their nearly 13 000-member real estate brokers. Its mission is to support Québec's real estate boards in order to defend, protect and promote the interests of real estate brokers through the provision of services in the areas of professional practices, public affairs and market analysis. The QFREB is guided by an approach centered on collaboration and resource sharing.

About Centris

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. Société Centris provides real estate industry stakeholders with access to real estate data and a wide range of technology tools. Centris also manages the collaboration system used by more than 13,000 real estate brokers in Québec.

For detailed statistics on the Montréal area, read the QFREB Barometer.

SOURCE Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards

Taïssa Hrycay, Director, Communications and Public Relations, Québec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers, Tel.: [phone], ext. 1257, [email protected]; Nathalie Rochette, Assistant Manager, Communications and Public Relations, Québec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers, Tel.: [phone], ext. 238, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.fciq.ca