Montreal real-estate market stays hot in February, posts 60th straight gain!
06 Mar 2020
Residential property sales in and around Montreal had their best February on record, marking five years of consecutive monthly advances.
More than 5,330 residential transactions were concluded in the Montreal metropolitan area last month, a 23-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago, the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers said Thursday in its latest monthly report. February marked the 60th consecutive month of sales growth, the group said.
The previous high for February dated back to 2002.
Last month’s property transactions had a combined value of $2.21 billion, 39 per cent more than the $1.59 billion recorded in February 2019. Sales on the island of Montreal accounted for just under half the total value.
Sales growth was strongest in the suburbs. St-Jean-sur-Richelieu led the way with a 33-per-cent gain, followed by the South Shore with 30 per cent, Laval with 28 per cent and the North Shore with 23 per cent.
Property transactions on the island of Montreal climbed 17 per cent to 1,742.
Prices continued to climb, buoyed by dwindling supply. The median price of a single-family home across the greater Montreal area jumped 13 per cent to $360,000, while the median price of a condominium rose 10 per cent to $275,000. Plexes — defined as properties with two to five dwellings — sold for a median price of $597,750, 13 per cent more than a year ago.
Montreal and its surroundings had 20,619 active residential listings last month, seven per cent less than in February 2019. New listings dropped four per cent.
“Active listings continue to decline, and this further tightening of the market in favour of sellers is leading to double-digit price growth in the tightest sectors,” Julie Saucier, the group’s president, said in a statement.
Montreal-area transactions are happening faster. It took 56 days on average to sell a single-family home last month, compared with 73 a year earlier. Condos required 61 days, down from 92, while plexes sold in 65 days instead of 82.
Conditions are also heating up elsewhere in Quebec. Residential property sales in the province rose 28 per cent last month, QPAREB said, citing data from the Centris system. More than $3.3 billion in transactions took place, a 41-per-cent increase compared with February 2019.
