Residential properties went up by 15% year-over-year last month
The outsized performance of Montreal’s condo market has led to a record number of homes being sold in the area last month, according to the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board.
5,057 residential properties were sold in May, a new high for that month and up 15 per cent year-over-year.
The surge came amid concerns that a foreign buyers’ tax in Toronto could be having a spillover effect on Canada's second-largest city, The Canadian Press reported.
Real estate market observers have offered their takes on whether a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers in the Golden Horseshoe region, which encompasses the Greater Toronto Area, would drive sales in Montreal.
Paul Cardinal of the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards said it’s too soon to say whether the tax, which was passed by the Ontario government last month and made retroactive to April 21, would have had any impact on transactions.
Still, Cardinal said Montreal is on track to have one of its best years in terms of home sales, attributing that to high employment growth, more non-permanent residents and improving consumer confidence.
“Demand is strong and listings are going down,” he explained. “We're back in a seller’s market for single-family homes.”
Last week, Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao assured he had no plans in the near term to introduce a foreign buyers’ tax on Montreal homes but is open to the idea if one is needed.
Related stories:
The Montreal property segment as a market on the rise
No Montreal foreign home buyers’ tax for now - Quebec FM
5,057 residential properties were sold in May, a new high for that month and up 15 per cent year-over-year.
The surge came amid concerns that a foreign buyers’ tax in Toronto could be having a spillover effect on Canada's second-largest city, The Canadian Press reported.
Real estate market observers have offered their takes on whether a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers in the Golden Horseshoe region, which encompasses the Greater Toronto Area, would drive sales in Montreal.
Paul Cardinal of the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards said it’s too soon to say whether the tax, which was passed by the Ontario government last month and made retroactive to April 21, would have had any impact on transactions.
Still, Cardinal said Montreal is on track to have one of its best years in terms of home sales, attributing that to high employment growth, more non-permanent residents and improving consumer confidence.
“Demand is strong and listings are going down,” he explained. “We're back in a seller’s market for single-family homes.”
Last week, Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao assured he had no plans in the near term to introduce a foreign buyers’ tax on Montreal homes but is open to the idea if one is needed.
Related stories:
The Montreal property segment as a market on the rise
No Montreal foreign home buyers’ tax for now - Quebec FM
