The volume of active listings saw its 12th straight quarterly decline
The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers has reported that activity in the provincial real estate market continued to slow down in Q1 2022, with the number of residential sales falling by 17% annually to 25,845 transactions.
Despite being lower than the average volume seen over the past two years, this level was still higher than the historical average of the first quarters prior to the pandemic (approximately 20,000 transactions), the QPAREB said.
The most significant decline was seen in the single-family home segment (down by 18% annually), followed by condos (down by 16%) and small income properties (down by 14%).
“Buyers were still quite active in the market in the first quarter of 2022, anticipating the upward shift in interest rates and shopping all around with bank pre-approvals and reserved mortgage rates in hand,” said Charles Brant, director of market analysis at the QPAREB. “This surge in demand contributed to a further drop in active listings. The result is a widespread, trending decline in the level of transactions and a renewed pressure on prices.”
Read more: Quebec home-buying intent returns to pre-pandemic levels
Quebec’s active listings saw a 21% annual decrease to 21,563 properties, in its 12th consecutive quarter of declines.
The median price of the province’s single-family homes reached $415,444 (up 22% year over year), while condos were at $365,000 (up 20%). Small income properties registered the largest increase in their median prices compared to the first quarter of 2021, gaining by 25% to reach $520,000.
However, “while prices are somewhat skewed by a higher proportion of properties transacted in higher price ranges compared to last year, the 21% increase in housing prices in the first quarter for all of Quebec is hardly sustainable, especially for the southern parts of the province,” Brant cautioned.
“Households and, especially, investors will soon be faced with the strong headwinds of a significant increase in interest rates over the next few months, justified by a well-established inflationary context that is increasingly eroding the purchasing power and confidence of households and the return on investment of the investors.”
