Residential sales fell by 39% in the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Montreal in December 2022, compared to the same period last year, a slowdown that was also observed on the Quebec side.
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The Montreal CMA recorded 2,232 residential sales in December 2022 compared to 3,646 sales made during the same month last year. According to data from the Association professionnelle des courtiers immobiliers du Québec (APCIQ), we have to go back to 2014 for such a low level of sales to be observed in December.
“Although the month of December is generally not the month most representative of the effective dynamics of the market, we notice a certain wait-and-see attitude. On the one hand, buyers are hoping for an improvement in market conditions, in their favour. The sellers, on the other hand, are hoping for a stabilization of the market,” said Charles Brant, director of the APCIQ’s market analysis department in a press release.
The largest drop in sales in the Montreal CMA was observed in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, with 47 transactions in December 2022, a decrease of 52%.
The sectors of Laval (200 sales), the Island of Montreal (836 sales) and the South Shore of Montreal (512 sales) also experienced decreases in residential sales, with respective declines of 41%, 40 % and 40%.
Next come the large sectors of the North Shore of Montreal and Vaudreuil-Soulanges which, with 527 and 110 transactions respectively, recorded drops of 33% compared to the same period a year ago.
Plexes and condominiums suffered the greatest decreases, with respective drops of 51% and 40% compared to December 2021. Sales of single-family homes fell by 35%.
Median prices in the Montréal CMA decreased slightly in December 2022 compared to last year. Thus, plexes experienced the most marked drop (-6%) for a median price of $690,000. Single-family homes have a median price of $510,000 (-3%) and condominiums of $375,000 (-1%).
The number of transactions fell by 38% in December 2022 compared to the same month in 2021 in the Québec City CMA, with 461 sales compared to 743.
“In Quebec, although December is not the month most representative of the dynamics of the real estate market, we see that the weakening of sales is not the only fact of the rise in interest rates. Properties on the market are not accumulating at the same rate as in most other CMAs and agglomerations,” noted Mr. Brant.
The northern periphery of Quebec recorded the largest drop (-65%), followed by the Quebec City agglomeration and the South Shore of Quebec, with a 34% drop in sales
The median price of single-family homes is up, up 3% ($328,000) year over year, as is that of plexes (+4%; $364,000) while that of condominiums is down 1% (222,000).
