ÎLE-DES-SŒURS, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - July 14, 2014) - The Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB) has released its most recent residential sales statistics for the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), based on the real estate brokers' Centris® provincial database. In total, 11,461 residential sales were concluded in the second quarter of 2014, a 5 per cent decrease compared to the second quarter of last year. This was the third consecutive quarterly drop in sales, and the seventh decrease in the past eight quarters.
To view the tables associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/957083a_tables.pdf
The slowdown in sales in the second quarter of 2014 affected all three property categories. Sales of single-family homes (6,845 transactions) fell by 5 per cent, sales of condominiums (3,571 transactions) decreased by 3 per cent and sales of plexes (1,034 transactions) dropped by 10 per cent compared to the second quarter of last year.
Geographically, sales were relatively stable in Laval (-1 per cent) in the second quarter of 2014, while the Island of Montréal, the North Shore and Vaudreuil-Soulanges registered the largest decreases in sales at 5 per cent, 7 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively. The South Shore fared better with a 3 per cent drop in sales compared to the second quarter of 2013.
Across the CMA, the median price of single-family homes (+1 per cent) and plexes (+2 per cent), which both had balanced market conditions, registered moderate increases compared to one year earlier, reaching $285,000 and $437,500, respectively. The median price of condominiums, whose market conditions continue to favour buyers, stood at $228,000, which is stable compared to the second quarter of last year.
Finally, "the supply of properties for sale increased for a fifteenth consecutive quarter, as the number of active listings on the Centris® system grew by 10 per cent in the second quarter of 2014," said Diane Ménard, Vice-President of the GMREB Board of Directors and spokesperson for the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) for the Montréal area. "But it should be noted that condominiums registered their smallest increase in supply (+10 per cent) in more than three years," she added.
Province's Real Estate Market Slowdown Continued in the Second Quarter of 2014
The Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB) has released its most recent residential sales statistics for the province of Québec, based on the real estate brokers' Centris® provincial database. In total, 21,879 residential sales were concluded in the second quarter of 2014, a 5 per cent decrease compared to the second quarter of 2013. This was the third consecutive quarterly decrease in sales, and the seventh decrease in the past eight quarters.
While condominium sales (4,586 transactions) fell by only 3 per cent in the second quarter of the year, sales of single-family homes (15,416 transactions) and plexes (1,770 transactions) registered larger decreases of 5 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
Five of the province's six Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) registered a drop in sales in the second quarter of the year. The largest decreases were in the Gatineau (-18 per cent) and Saguenay (-15 per cent) CMAs, while more moderate decreases were registered in the Sherbrooke (-7 per cent) and Montréal (-5 per cent) CMAs. The Québec City CMA was less affected by the slowdown in sales, posting a drop of only 1 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2013. The Trois-Rivières CMA, which deviated from the provincial trend, was the only area that registered an increase in sales, with 17 per cent more transactions in the second quarter of 2014 than in the second quarter of 2013.
Among the province's smaller urban centres, the agglomerations of Sept-Îles (+35 per cent), Rouyn-Noranda (+24 per cent), Shawinigan (+19 per cent) and Val-d'Or (+15 per cent) bucked the downward trend and registered the largest increases in sales.
The median price of single-family homes in Québec stood at $231,500 in the second quarter of 2014, a modest increase of 1 per cent compared to that observed in the same period last year.
Furthermore, "buyers continue to have more choice, as the number of properties listed on the Centris® system increased by 10 per cent across the province in the second quarter of 2014," said Paul Cardinal, Manager of the QFREB's Market Analysis Department. "This upward trend in supply can be seen in the vast majority of the province's urban centres," he added.
About the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board
The Greater Montréal Real Estate Board is a non-profit organization with close to 10,000 members: real estate brokers. Its mission is to actively promote and protect its members' professional and business interests in order for them to successfully meet their business objectives.
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 as associate members and close to 14,000 real estate brokers who are affiliated 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.
Contact Information:
514-762-0212, ext. 216
sarah.hamel@fciq.ca