Montreal’s resale market astonishingly shows no signs of slowing in October, despite the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic
All over the city of Montreal, real estate is in great condition despite early worries that earlier success during the pandemic would eventually turn toward a downward spiral. Even in our very own Park Extension, things haven’t at all shown signs of slowing down in the slightest.
A few recent statistics & recordings
The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) has just released its residential real estate market statistics for the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area for the month of October, and it’s based on the real estate brokers’ Centris provincial database.
Director of market analysis at the QPAREB , Charles Brant stated: “With a historic 37 per cent jump in sales in October, the Montreal CMA maintained a strong increase in sales and a substantial decrease in active listings in the outlying areas of the Island of Montreal.”
As things stood during the early stages of the pandemic
Covid19 certainly did a lot of damage and while that certainly was an understatement I made at the time of the first wave, I’d say it’s safe to assume that we all have suffered a tad at the hands of this terrible pandemic even further as the months progressed, and in all facets. But, there is a silver lining visible from a great distance and perhaps many have benefited from this time of disaster in the end, as they certainly did then. And still, as then, things are looking up in the realm of real estate and here’s why once again.
We even spoke to local Montreal real estate agents and both stated that the market was indeed crazy at the time.
In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver hold the title for having the busiest and most lucrative markets when it comes to real estate, but apparently, Montréal broke a record of its own just this past July, ranking it a close third at least for a time.
Julie Saucier, the president of the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers, told CTV news during the first wave and shortly after: “Right now the market is really crazy in Montreal. But it’s really tough to say: is it because people waited, and now they can go back and sell their house? Or is it really that we’re seeing a new trend? What we’re trying to see is whether it’s that people want to have an office at home, or an extra room where they’ll be able to work from home, or is it that I want one of my parents to live with me because I don’t want them to go in a CHSLD.”
But of course, that was as things stood then. But now as the second wave has surely hit and has nestled in quite comfortably as it seems, the market is still yet to be affected negatively, as surprising as that is.
October housing market
- Significant sales increases in many periphery markets, including Vaudreuil-Soulanges (+63 per cent), the North Shore (+52 per cent) and Laval (+38 per cent), and equally remarkable for Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (+33 per cent), the South Shore (+31 per cent) and the Island of Montreal (+29 per cent).
- By property category, plexes (2 to 5 dwellings) and condominiums registered the largest sales increases (+37 per cent), followed very closely by single-family homes (+36 per cent).
- Active listings increased for condominiums (+12 per cent) and plexes (+3 per cent), which has not been seen since 2014 for a month of October, in contrast to single-family homes, which continued to decline sharply (-35 per cent).
- Median prices continued to rise significantly: single-family homes (+21 per cent), condominiums (+16 per cent) and plexes (+12 per cent).
- Record number of visits to the Centris.ca website, up 71 per cent compared to October of last year. This technology platform allows virtual open houses and private interactive showings, an advantage for real estate brokerage professionals and their clients.
