Residential property sales in the greater Montreal area fell 36% last month from a year ago, reaching their lowest level since 2009 for a month of January, the Professional Association said on Tuesday. Quebec real estate brokers (APCIQ).
A total of 1,791 homes changed hands last month in the census metropolitan area (CMA), compared to 2,816 transactions in January 2022, the association said. Median selling prices fell for all property categories, but the steepest decline in this regard was for single-family homes, where the median price fell 7% to $500,000.
The number of single-family home sales fell 31% to 898, falling below 1,000 transactions for the first time since this data began to be compiled by the Centris system in 2000. Plex sales , or buildings with two to five units, recorded the steepest annual decline in January, dropping 52%. Their median price fell 6% to $675,000. For their part, condominiums saw their median price ($370,000) record the smallest annual drop, at 3 per cent. Their sales fell in January by 38% over one year.
As for the major sectors of the CMA, the drop in median prices (compared to a year ago) for single-family homes is more marked for Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (-20%) and the South Shore (-10 %). The Island of Montreal follows with a variation of -7%, while the decrease was weaker in the sectors of the North Shore (-5%), Vaudreuil-Soulanges (-4%) and Laval (- 3%).
Jump in registrations
Weak sales are encouraging the accumulation of properties on the market, as demonstrated by the 65% increase in active listings compared to January 2022. This increase is supported by all property categories, but is particularly pronounced in the single-family sector, for which it reached 89%. With 15,020 properties for sale in January 2023, inventories thus slightly exceed their pre-pandemic level of January 2020, pointed out the APCIQ.
Since the Bank of Canada indicated last month that it was putting an end to its interest rate hikes for the time being, and that market conditions seem less favorable to sellers, the APCIQ believes that the context could confidence to buyers and that market activity could stabilize as early as this spring.
“With a level of activity approaching a historic low for the month of January, the inventory of properties for sale tends to be replenished more quickly. This dynamic is in line with the trend of the last six months. In addition to the full impact of the rise in interest rates on the financial capacity of first-time buyers, it is above all a wait-and-see attitude and caution that are generally in order, despite the decline in prices. The latent demand to buy a property is nevertheless still very present,” notes Charles Brant, director of the APCIQ’s market analysis department.
However, the entry into force of new laws, in particular to prohibit foreign investors from acquiring properties in Quebec’s major cities, could also have an impact on activity in Montreal, the association said.
Setback in Quebec
For its part, the CMA of Québec recorded 521 residential sales on its territory during January, a decrease of 24% compared to the same period in 2022. This is a level of sales for the month of January slightly lower than the historical average since 2000, indicates the APCIQ.
The median price in the plex market was $330,000, which represents a decline of 5% over one year. That of single-family homes was stable at $325,000, while the condominium category recorded median price growth of 9%, to $235,000.
With The duty