ILE-DES-SOEURS, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - April 14, 2014) - The Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) has released its residential sales statistics for the province of Québec, based on the real estate brokers' Centris® provincial database. In total, 18,447 residential sales were concluded in the first quarter of 2014, which represents a 2 per cent decrease compared to the first quarter of 2013. This was the second consecutive quarterly decrease in sales, and the sixth decrease in the past seven quarters.
By property category, condominiums registered the largest drop in sales in the first quarter of 2014, with a decrease of 7 per cent (3,775 transactions). Plex (2 to 5 dwellings) sales fell by 3 per cent (1,478 transactions), while single-family home sales, which accounted for the lion's share of the province's transactions, registered a modest decrease of 1 per cent (13,110 sales).
Four of the province's six Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) experienced a less active first quarter as compared to last year. Only the Trois-Rivières CMA registered an increase in sales (+17 per cent), while the number of transactions remained stable in the Québec City CMA. Among the agglomerations, the most notable sales increases were observed in Val-d'Or (+38 per cent), Joliette (+21 per cent), Saint-Hyacinthe (+15 per cent), Drummondville (+15 per cent) and Saint-Sauveur (+12 per cent).
For a fifteenth consecutive quarter, the number of active listings on the real estate brokers' Centris® system increased in Québec. On average, 76,559 residential properties were for sale in the first quarter of 2014, a 9 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2013.
The median price of single-family homes in Québec ($226,250) rose slightly by 1 per cent compared to that observed in the first quarter of 2013. "Price increases on the residential real estate market have been much more tenuous in recent quarters in all areas of the province," said Paul Cardinal, Manager of the QFREB's Market Analysis Department. "The pace of growth in the median price of single-family homes in Québec ranged between 0 per cent and 2 per cent over the last seven quarters," he added.
Among the metropolitan areas, Gatineau and Saguenay saw a slight decrease in their median price of single-family homes (-1 per cent) in the first quarter of 2014. As for the smaller urban centres, those that registered a decrease in prices are almost as numerous as those that registered an increase.
In the Gatineau Metropolitan Area, 734 residential properties were sold in the first quarter of 2014, a 5 per cent decrease compared to the first quarter of last year. Condominium sales registered the largest drop, falling by 20 per cent. The number of properties listed on the real estate brokers' Centris® system increased (+12 per cent) for a twelfth consecutive quarter. Prices decreased slightly compared to the first quarter of 2013, as the median price of single-family homes ($225,000) and condominiums ($167,250) fell by 1 per cent.
In the Montréal Metropolitan Area, 9,623 residential transactions were concluded in the first quarter of 2014, which represents a 3 per cent decrease compared to the same quarter last year. The drop was more pronounced for condominiums, with sales falling by 8 per cent. The median price of single-family homes ($275,000) rose by only 1 per cent compared to last year, while that of condominiums strengthened slightly (+2 per cent, $225,000). The number of active listings and the average selling time continued their upward trend.
In the Québec City Metropolitan Area, there were 1,855 residential sales transactions concluded in the first quarter of 2014, an almost identical number (+0.2 per cent) to that registered in the first quarter of last year. However, due to an increase in the supply of properties for sale (+18 per cent), there was little pressure exerted on prices: the median price of single-family homes ($242,000) grew by 1 per cent, while that of condominiums (-2 per cent) fell for a second consecutive quarter. Finally, average selling times increased by 12 days for single-family homes (107 days) and by 22 days for condominiums (152 days).
In the Saguenay Metropolitan Area, 293 properties were sold through the real estate brokers' Centris® system in the first quarter of 2014, a 5 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year. In terms of supply, there was a significant increase (+27 per cent) in the number of properties for sale since last year. Market conditions, which still gave sellers a slight advantage one year ago, now favour buyers, thereby resulting in a significant easing of pressure on prices. Moreover, in the first quarter of 2014, the median price of single-family homes ($174,500) registered its first quarterly decrease (-1 per cent) in almost 12 years.
In the Sherbrooke Metropolitan Area, 471 residential sales were concluded in the first quarter of 2014, a 5 per cent drop compared to the same quarter last year. Nevertheless, and despite an increase in the number of active listings (+5 per cent), the median price of single-family homes grew by 5 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2013, the largest increase among the province's six CMAs. However, average selling times remained quite long: 124 days for single-family homes and 139 days for condominiums.
Finally, in the Trois-Rivières Metropolitan Area, 332 residential transactions were concluded in the first quarter of 2014, a 17 per cent increase compared to the same quarter last year. This was a sharp discrepancy with the provincial sales result, which shows a 2 per cent decrease in transactions in the first quarter of 2014. The median price of single-family homes, up by 2 per cent, reached $151,000. However, average selling times increased somewhat (+24 days), reaching 108 days for single-family homes.
About Centris.ca
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. Visit Centris.ca to obtain more information and quarterly statistics for the province of Québec.
About the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards
The Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards is a non-profit organization composed of Québec's 12 real estate boards and the close to 14,000 real estate brokers who are their members. Its mission is to promote and protect the interests of Québec's real estate industry so that the boards and their members can successfully meet their business objectives.
For more information about the Centris® statistics for each of the province's regions, don't miss the upcoming publication of the QFREB Barometer.
A table is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Quebec_eng.pdf
Contact Information:
514-762-0212, ext. 216
sarah.hamel@fciq.ca