The city remains affordable especially when compared to other large cities in Canada, top officials assert
Quebec officials are disputing the Bank of Canada’s assertions that Montreal is one of the nation’s real estate markets exhibiting undue “exuberance”.
As of April, the city’s median prices grew by 39% annually for single-family homes (reaching approximately $500,000), and by 23% year over year for condos (reaching $357,750). These came with a similarly strong sales level, which reached a new record high of 6,237 transactions last month.
The market’s benchmark price, according to Canadian Real Estate Association records, was $483,200 in April, compared to Ottawa’s $636,000 and Greater Toronto’s $1 million.
However, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard said that the government is “paying close attention” to these trends, which are being impelled by historically low interest rates and a significant shift in buyer preferences.
Read more: What’s driving the Quebec housing market?
“It’s still an affordable city,” Girard said in an interview with Bloomberg, offering assurances that the market’s fundamentals remain “really strong.”
Girard said that tighter lending qualification requirements implemented by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions came at the right time for the market. The official added that Quebec is considering further regulation to prevent house hunters from waiving property inspections to unfairly gain advantages over other bidders.
“We want to be really sure that buyers remain prudent,” Girard said.
