THE TREND FOR 2023 CONTINUES
The census metropolitan area of Montréal continues to record declines in home sales in February, but it no longer stands out from other cities in the province.
The accumulation of unsold properties on the market is causing active listings and selling times to jump, but levels remain well below the historical average.
Median prices are down from the same period last year, however, they are up from January 2023. Good news on interest rates: the Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest rate at 4.5%. Source APCIQ
In February 2023, residential sales in the Greater Montréal area, are down 32% from the same period last year, bringing sales to a new level for this month of the year.
“Despite an all-time low number of sales for a February and the sharp rise in the number of properties that have not found a buyer, most properties in the Montreal CMA are selling at the listed price, or even slightly above. This is particularly the case for condominiums,” observes Charles Brant, QPAREB Market Analysis Director. This means that despite longer selling times, the normalization of the transaction process and a return to market conditions less favorable to sellers, there is a pause in the price correction for the moment.” You want to know if the market is favorable to you as a buyer, subscribe to the link Real Estate Alert here.
The events that particularly mark the month of February are:
- Transactional activity is slowing down in all major sectors of the Montréal CMA. The North Shore and South Shore sectors of Montréal, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Laval experienced slightly less marked declines, between -26% and 30% compared to February 2022. The Island of Montreal and Vaudreuil-Soulanges, for their part, saw their sales drop between -37% and -39%.
- This decline is also observable in all property categories. The number of small income properties that transacted fell by -52% compared to the same period last year. This is the most notable decline among the different categories. Condominiums also saw a -3% decrease. Finally, with a decline of -26% compared to last year, it is the sales of single-family homes that recorded the least marked slowdown. Note that this is a new threshold for single-family home and plex sales since the data were compiled by the Centris system in 2000.
- The upward trend in active listings continues in February with a 64% increase over last year and slightly higher than the pre-pandemic level of February 2020. The increase in enrolment came mainly from single-family homes (85%). Condominiums and plexes still recorded increases of 51 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively.
- The slowdown in transactional activity is also reflected in longer average sales times across all property categories. The average selling time for small income properties was 82 days, 27 days longer than at the same time a year ago. Condominiums and single-family homes follow with 60 days and 58 days respectively. That’s 19 more days for condominiums and 26 more days for single-family homes.
- Median prices are experiencing further declines when compared to February 2022 prices, being -8 % for small income properties, -6 % for single-family homes and -4 % for condominiums. On the other hand, on a monthly basis, median prices have all increased, compared to January 2023. Both condominiums and single-family homes grew 3 % and plexes 5 %. As a result, median prices have returned to levels similar to those of last November.
- Median prices for single-family homes are generally down in the major areas of the Montréal CMA. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is an exception with a stable median price (1%) compared to the same period last year. The decrease in the median price is more modest (-4%) for the Island of Montréal and Montréal’s North Shore. Laval and the South Shore of Montreal follow with decreases of -7% and -8% respectively. How sells your property, you wonder? Request a Free Home Evaluation at this link.
On interest rates: a little respite on the horizon. The news is that the Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest rate at 4.5%.
Despite a still strong economy, no rate hike is expected in the coming months.In a market that tends to favor sellers less, this announcement will help restore buyers’ confidence in their property acquisition project. This is therefore a favorable context for a stabilization of activity on the real estate market from the spring. Book your best Mortgage rate on the link here. Source APCIQ
FEBRUARY STATISTICS AT A GLANCE
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