Sales of plexes, or buildings with two to five units, recorded the most pronounced annual decline in January, yielding 52%. (Photo: The Canadian Press)
Residential property sales in Greater Montreal fell 36% last month from a year ago, reaching their lowest level since 2009 for a month of January, the Professional Association of Brokers said on Tuesday. real estate of Quebec (APCIQ).
A total of 1,791 homes changed hands last month in the census metropolitan area, compared to 2,816 transactions in January 2022, the association said.
Median sale prices fell for all housing categories, but the steepest decline in this regard was for single-family homes, whose median price fell 7% to $500,000.
The number of single-family home sales fell 31% to 898, falling below 1,000 transactions for the first time since such data began being compiled by the Centris system in 2000.
Sales of plexes, or buildings with two to five units, recorded the most pronounced annual decline in January, yielding 52%. Their median price fell 6% to $675,000.
For their part, condominiums saw their median price record the smallest annual drop, ie 3% to $370,000. Their sales fell in January by 38% year on year.
Weak sales are favoring the accumulation of properties on the market, as demonstrated by the 65% increase in active listings compared to January 2022. This increase is supported by all property categories, but is particularly pronounced with single-family homes, for which it reached 89%.
With 15,020 properties for sale in January 2023, inventories thus slightly exceed their pre-pandemic level of January 2020, pointed out the APCIQ.
While the Bank of Canada indicated last month that it was putting an end to its interest rate hikes for the time being, and that market conditions seem less favorable to sellers, the APCIQ believes that the context might restore buyer confidence and that market activity might stabilize as early as this spring.
However, the entry into force of new legislation on the activity, in particular to prohibit foreign investors from acquiring properties in large Quebec cities, might also have an impact on activity in Montreal, warned the association.
