There have never been so many new properties for sale in the Greater Montreal market for the month of May since 2014, according to residential sales statistics compiled by Centris.
“The month of May marks an important turning point for market conditions in the [Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)]. Posting a fifth consecutive month of increase in the number of properties on the market, which is symptomatic of a change in trend, we are now seeing a level of listings that exceeds that of the same period last year," explained Friday the Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers of Quebec (APCIQ), in a press release.
Indeed, it is the first time since 2015 that the Montreal CMA has "registered a 0.3% increase in its inventory of properties on the market for this period of the year", according to the director of the Service de l APCIQ market analysis, Charles Brant.
However, the drop in transactional activities and the level of sales “barely comparable to 2016 for a month of May” do not reflect this increase.
In fact, the CMA recorded a 9% drop in property sales, compared to May 2021. The APCIQ attributes this slowdown to high property prices.
More specifically, Laval experienced a 9% decrease in sales, while Montreal and the South Shore saw their sales drop by 10%.
On the side of Quebec
Conversely to the situation in the Montreal region, the Quebec City CMA has seen a continuous decline in active listings since the beginning of the year.
In fact, 2,882 active listings were recorded for May 2022, a decrease of 28% compared to May 2021.
“Contrary to the provincial trend, the number of properties on the market has rather tended to decrease since the beginning of the year”, we note in the APCIQ report.
Even though residential sales in the Quebec CMA have decreased by 2% since May 2021, transactional activity is reaching “historically high levels” as 872 residences were sold in May 2022, the monthly average since 2017 being 823.
"Quebec remains a safe bet and relatively affordable for those who want to buy more serenely in a market context that sees the tide turn," said Mr. Brant.
