Montreal region | The residential market is changing

The number of properties for sale has increased for a fifth consecutive month in the Montreal region, “which is symptomatic of a change in trend”, indicates the Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers of Quebec (APCIQ) in a press release.

Andre Dubuc
The Press

At 11,304, the number of active listings in May 2022 exceeds the level of May 2021, when there were 11,269 signs for sale.

“The months of April, May and June are the most significant in terms of activity on the resale market,” explains Charles Brant, director of the APCIQ’s market analysis department, over the phone. It is normal for the inventory of properties for sale to decrease at this time of year. Historically, when the reverse occurs, it is a harbinger of a market downturn. »

APCIQ unveiled its statistics for May on Friday. They are based on data from Centris, the provincial database of real estate brokers.

“Never have so many new properties been put up for sale in the Montreal region for this time of year since 2014. This is the first time since 2015 that the market in the Montreal CMA has recorded an increase of its inventory of properties on the market for this period of the year,” reads the APCIQ press release.

A total of 4,874 sales were recorded in May in the CMA, a decrease of 9% compared to May 2021. “This slowdown is part of a downward trend established last summer and which is explained by a problem of affordability rather than a lack of supplies,” according to the APCIQ.

Homes saw their sales decline by 7%, while condominiums saw theirs decline by 10%. The drop is 17% in plexes (2 to 5 units).

“The changes observed in the dynamics of the market are precisely explained by the very high levels of prices combined with a rapid rise in interest rates, whether fixed or variable. With the new increase of 50 basis points on 1^er June by the Bank of Canada, it will become increasingly difficult to qualify for a mortgage loan in the Montreal area. The sharp price increases will thus become more and more anecdotal over the coming months with a level of overbidding that is expected to fade,” says Mr. Brant, in the Association’s press release.

On an annual basis, median prices continued to rise, but less rapidly. On the other hand, house prices have stabilized for two months, a first since June 2021. The price of plexes also fell in May compared to the previous month.