Steadily falling inventory is discouraging sales activity, provincial real estate board says
The Quebec residential real estate market slowed down considerably in the third quarter mainly due to a lack of properties for sale, according to the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers.
A total of 22,333 transactions took place in the province in Q3, falling by 30% annually. Of this sum, 13,899 deals were for single-family homes (down 36%), 5,835 were for condominiums (down 24%) and 2,505 were for plexes (up 3%).
Among Quebec’s census metropolitan areas, Saguenay registered the largest decrease in sales (37%), followed by Quebec City (down 32%), Montreal (down 29%), and Gatineau (down 24%).
Read more: Quebec’s condo activity defies the usual trends
“The return to a pre-pandemic level of sales was primarily due to a lack of properties on the market, both for single-family homes and condominiums,” said Charles Brant, director of market analysis at the QPAREB. “With less than three months of inventory, the Quebec resale market hasn’t experienced such a shortage of supply since the real estate brokers’ Centris system began compiling data back in the year 2000. This puts constant upward pressure on prices.”
Supply fell for the 23rd straight quarter, with the number of properties listed for sale falling by 31% annually to 24,939 units.
“This is the lowest level of active listings on record since 2003, when the size of the residential housing stock was much smaller than it is today,” the QPAREB said.
Median prices increased by 18% for single-family homes (up to $365,000), 18% for condos (reaching $334,000), and 5% for plexes (to $450,000).
