Montreal outstrips other major cities in terms of housing market growth

Condos in particular have proven wildly popular

By Ephraim Vecina

11 Jun. 2018

Breaking record levels in May, Montreal outperformed Canada’s other large cities in terms of residential property sales, according to the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board.

Montreal saw a total of 5,303 homes sold last month, per records from the Centris provincial broker database.

“At that time it was a record year for the month of May and now we’re just 1% higher which doesn't seem very spectacular but still it's a record number,” Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards market analysis manager Paul Cardinal told The Canadian Press.

Montreal’s numbers put it far ahead of other major markets. In comparison, Calgary suffered an 18% year-over-year decline in sales last Month, while Toronto and Vancouver activity fell by 22% and 35%, respectively.

Even a 6% decline in the sales of single-family homes wasn’t enough to stifle Montreal’s forward march, as condominiums proved to be in especially high demand, with May sales numbers growing by 14% compared to the same time last year. Sales of plexes (residences with 2 to 5 units) were up by 4%.

Luxury condo sales also increased by 51% year-to-date in May, with 21% of the deals closing above the list price.

These market conditions have pushed the average price of all properties in Greater Montreal up by 5% to $373,899. The increase was 6% (up to $481,544) on the island of Montreal.

The number of active listings in the Montreal area declined by 16% year-over-year (down to 24,501), while the number of new listings fell by 1%. Condo listings decreased by 22% in May, a situation that authorities said has not been seen in nearly 15 years.

“The condominium segment — against all expectations — is on the verge of moving into a seller's market too,” Greater Montreal Real Estate Board president Mathieu Cousineau said.

“Montreal has a very stable political environment as of late and I think people have more confidence in the Montreal marketplace now and going into the future,” Sotheby’s Canada CEO Brad Henderson noted.