Real-estate sales up 9% in Montreal for fourth quarter

The number of residential real-estate sales in the Montreal region during the fourth quarter was up nine per cent when compared with the equivalent period in 2016, according to the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards.

But it wasn’t the fastestgrowing market in the province.

Trois-Rivières saw sales rise by 20 per cent during the same period.

In both markets, median prices rose by five per cent.

The number of active listings in the Montreal region was down 12 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2016.

Across the province, fourthquarter sales rose by eight per cent, while median prices for single-family homes rose by an average of three per cent.

In the Montreal region, the Island of Montreal saw the biggest increase in sales. Fourthquarter sales were up 12 per cent from the equivalent period the year before. It was followed by the South Shore, where sales were up 11 per cent.

The Island of Montreal also saw the biggest price increases in the region.

On average, median prices for single-family houses were nine per cent higher in the fourth quarter of 2017 than in the equivalent period in 2016, reaching $467,500.

The median price of a condo was up by eight per cent on Montreal Island, to $312,000, while prices rose by seven per cent in Laval, to $230,750.

In both Vaudreuil-Soulanges and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, condo prices remained flat during the period.

Among neighbourhoods, Côte-des-Neiges/Côte St-Luc, which are measured together by the QFREB, saw the biggest increase in sales between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the fourth quarter of 2017: 38 per cent.

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/ Montreal-West saw the largest percentage increase in median prices during that period, up 23 per cent to $740,000.

Ahuntsic-Cartierville saw the largest percentage increase in condo prices, up 16 per cent during that period to $270,000.

Across the Montreal region, there were 44,448 property sales during 2017, the second highest on record and an increase of eight per cent from the year before. Condominium sales were up 17 per cent from 2016 to 2017. Across the region, the median price of a singlefamily home was $310,000, while the median price of a condo was $247,000.

On a year-over-year basis, the number of active listings was down 13 per cent. Demand for single family homes on Montreal Island continues to outstrip supply, the QFREB said.