April was the least active month for home sales in the Greater Montreal Area since 2017, according to the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers’ (QPAREB) most recent residential market statistics.
“Considering that 2017 references the most subdued year of activity in the last five years, this step backwards is indicative of a significant slowdown,” noted Charles Brant, director of the QPAREB’s Market Analysis Department. “This is particularly true for single-family homes, where, to find a month of April that is comparable, you must go back to 2014, which was one of the least active years of the last 20 years.”
Sales of condos and plexes, on the other hand, remained at sustained levels.
“If this situation can be explained primarily by a lack of single-family homes available on the market, we must face the facts: the current pricing level is crowding out a sizable portion of potential buyers for this property category,” Brant added. “The most determined buyers who remain unimpressed by market conditions are flocking to the more affordable condominiums faster than ever. These buyers are no doubt being pressured by the prospect of interest rates escalating faster than expected in the face of the current inflationary environment or by the need to find a property that meets their priorities.”
Condo sales still experienced a 16 per cent decline in April. Small income properties had the most significant drop at 19 per cent.
The northern sectors experienced larger declines than the others, with a 21 per cent decline in Laval and a 20 per cent decline on the North Shore. The Island of Montreal also experienced a significant decline, falling by 17 per cent compared to April 2021. The activity slowdown also affected other areas, but not as much.
The latest statistics also show that active listings rose to 10,454 in the CMA, a slight increase compared to March, which represented the fourth consecutive month of residential listings increases, a situation that has not been seen since 2013.
Average prices continued to grow significantly. QPAREB is expecting this trend to fade in the near future, given weakening sales and a stabilizing process in active listings. Single-family homes rose 16 per cent from April 2021 to $580,000. This price had hit $566,000 in March 2022. Prices for condominiums and small income properties had a similar increase. Condominiums gained 15 per cent to reach $410,000, while small income properties gained 14 per cent to reach $780,000.
