August 6, 2008 – Montréal Metropolitan’s July resale market continued to defy the downward trend of other major cities by registering a slight decrease of one per cent in MLS® sales transactions compared to the same month last year. The Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB) reported 2,892 MLS® sales transactions, almost the same number of sales as last year’s July, which set an all time record for that month.
“Thanks to stable mortgage rates and an increase in consumer confidence, the resale market’s performance in July is outstanding,” says Michel Beauséjour, FCA, Chief Executive Officer of the GMREB. “A small decrease is excellent news especially considering that there was an all time record set in July 2007, when sales increased by 25%. As well, Montréal continues to shine compared to other major cities such as Calgary and Vancouver whose July sales decreased by -12% and -44% respectively.”
In the suburbs, there were increases in the Laval (+3%) and South Shore (+2%) regions, which compensated slightly for the decline registered on the Island of Montréal. The North Shore stayed constant with last year, with 634 sales, which represents 22% of all transactions for the Montréal Metropolitan Area. It is mainly on the Island of Montréal (-4%) that the resale market was less active than the same period last year. We also note slower activity in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region, which registered a 9% decrease in transactions.
“Condominiums go against the tide recorded since the start of 2008 with a cumulative increase of sales of 7% compared to the first six months of 2007, while single-family homes show an equal decrease of 7%,” says Michel Beauséjour.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=386 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>MLS® Residential Statistics
Montréal Metropolitan Area - July 2008 versus July 2007
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2> </TD><TD width=72>Variation
</TD></TR><TR><TD width=171>Active listings
New listings
Total sales
Single-family
Condominiums
Plex (2 to 5 dwellings)
Volume of sales
Median price
Single-family
Condominiums
Plex (2 to 5 dwellings)
</TD><TD width=119>21,538
3,304
2,892
1,739
783
321
$786,123,233
$231,000
$205,000
$339,000
</TD><TD>+12 %
+11 %
-1 %
-4 %
+3 %
-4 %
+4 %
+3 %
+10 %
+6 %
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Source: Greater Montréal Real Estate Board by Centris™
The condominium market continued its momentum with a 3% increase in sales. However, single-family homes and plexes with 2 to 5 dwellings both registered 4% decreases this past month.
Condominiums stood out in July with a 10% increase of their median price, compared to July 2007, and it now reaches $205,000. The median price of single-family homes went up by 3% to reach $231,000. And finally, plexes doubled that number with a 6% increase of their median price.
“Montréal continues to be a good real estate investment as evidenced by the gradual progressive increase in its resale prices,” says Michel Beauséjour.
The number of active listings increased by 12% as of July 31, 2008 when compared to the same date last year. |