Real Estate News

Press release
Centris Residential Sales Statistics – December 2021
Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) 

L’Île-des-Sœurs, January 7, 2022 – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) has just released its residential real estate market statistics for the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) for the month of December, based on the real estate brokers’ Centris provincial database.

“Transactional activity was strong during the month of December, although experiencing a 19 per cent drop in sales compared to the same period last year. This downturn is consistent with a marked decrease in new listings which is always more significant in December,” remarks Charles Brant, director of market analysis. “Buyers are trying to take advantage of very low mortgage rates before the announced increases take effect in 2022. Consequently, the ongoing marked market imbalance in favour of sellers continues to result in a sharp rise in prices on the outskirts of the Island of Montreal, all property categories combined. On the island, prices for single-family homes have tended to level off in the past few months, particularly in areas where median prices are reaching levels that are unaffordable for a large proportion of potential buyers, thus favouring Montreal’s peripheral areas,” he notes.

December highlights

• With only a 2 per cent drop in year-to-date sales, the Montreal CMA real estate market was particularly active in 2021. It should also be noted that this activity is compared with 2020, an historical year in terms of sales and despite the lowest number of listings ever recorded in the region.
• More specifically, despite a 19 per cent drop in sales in December, it nevertheless ranks second for the most active December on record, reaching 3,675 sales.
• The smallest drop was recorded in Vaudreuil-Soulanges (-7 per cent) while the Island of Montreal
  (-14 per cent), the South Shore and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (-18 per cent) experienced more significant declines. The strongest decreases were observed on the North Shore (-26 per cent) and Laval (-27 per cent).
• Single-family homes and income properties saw the largest drop in sales, respectively -26 per cent and -18 per cent, followed by condominiums (-10 per cent).
• Active listings of condominiums (-29 per cent) and single-family homes (-26 per cent) continued to register sharp declines for this period, contrasting with plexes (-6 per cent).
• With market conditions still very strongly to the advantage of sellers, median prices continue to experience significant increases compared to the same period last year for single-family homes (+22 per cent). They remain at high levels for condominiums (+17 per cent) and small income properties (+14 per cent).

Additional information:

Detailed and cumulative statistics for the province and regions

If you would like additional information from the Market Analysis Department, such as specific data or regional details on the real estate market, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Press release
Centris Residential Sales Statistics – December 2021
Quebec City Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Quebec City, January 7, 2022 – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) has just released its residential real estate market statistics for the Quebec City Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) for the month of December, based on the real estate brokers’ Centris provincial database.

“There was a renewed interest in condominiums at the end of 2021. Barely more than 4 months are now needed to sell the entire inventory of properties for sale, a significant advantage for sellers that has not been seen at this time of the year since 2003,” notes Charles Brant, QPAREB director of market analysis.    “Buyers are flocking to this type of property, which is still relatively affordable in Quebec City, taking advantage of financing rates that are still extremely advantageous,” he adds.

December highlights

• Over 2021, sales in Quebec City experienced a relative decline of 4 per cent with 10,197 transactions. Nevertheless, this is the second most active year recorded by the Centris real estate brokerage system after the exceptional year of 2020.
• In December, sales were down to 736, a drop of 17 per cent compared to the same period last year. Note that a historical record of 885 sales was reached in December 2020.
• All areas of the Quebec City CMA continue to record excellent levels of sales, particularly on the South Shore with a 4 per cent decline compared to December last year, followed closely by Quebec City’s Northern Periphery (-5 per cent). The agglomeration of Quebec City recorded the most significant decline with a 21 per cent drop in sales.
• The condominium category is enjoying great popularity with sales falling by only 7 per cent compared to December 2020. Sales of single-family homes, constrained by a low level of available inventory, saw a 20 per cent drop. It was the sales of small income properties that experienced the strongest decline (-25 per cent).
• Active listings dropped significantly for the 21st consecutive month for single-family homes (-36 per cent) and especially for condominiums (-45 per cent). The drop is -7 per cent for small income properties.
• Month after month, with market conditions largely in favour of sellers, prices continue to rise steadily, although plexes are down slightly by 4 per cent ($350,000). Condominiums registered a jump of around 18 per cent compared to last year, while the price of single-family homes continued to show a constant increase of around 13 per cent. Consequently, median prices reached new records for these two categories: $318,875 for single-family homes and $225,000 for condominiums.

Additional information:

Detailed and cumulative statistics for the province and regions

If you would like additional information from the Market Analysis Department, such as specific data or regional details on the real estate market, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

News release
QPAREB 2021 review and 2022 forecast

Montreal, December 14, 2021 – During its Fenêtre sur le marché immobilier online conference, the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) presented its 2021 year-in-review report and unveiled its 2022 forecasts for the residential real estate market in the province of Quebec as well as individual regions.

1. 2021 REVIEW | PROVINCE OF QUEBEC

Sales decreased by 3% in 2021, which means 2020, the “pandemic year,” holds on to its title as the all-time record-setter. With 108,000 projected sales transactions per the real estate brokers’ Centris provincial database, however, 2021 is on track to be the second-busiest year ever recorded.

“We had been expecting a decline in sales in 2021 given the low inventory of properties on the market, exacerbated by the fact that housing starts continue to be insufficient to meet demand and by sharply rising prices,” explains Charles Brant, the QPAREB’s Director of Market Analysis. “But the market has proven surprisingly healthy, as shown especially by the phenomenal increase in median prices, with double-digit increases once again seen almost everywhere in Quebec for the second year in a row,” he adds.

The median price of a single-family home in the province hit an all-time high of $362,000, up by 24% during 2021.

The situation is directly influenced by the multiple atypical impacts of the health crisis, including the mortgage interest rate floor level and higher disposable income in many households during this second pandemic year. Among other things, the financial health of households has improved to a degree, the savings rate remains high, credit scores are rising, and there has been strong growth in the value of both real estate assets and financial assets resulting from the outstanding performance of the stock market and other more speculative investment vehicles.

Similarly to what prevailed in 2020, the year 2021 was notable for the following:

• The single-family property category has been under siege, having recorded unsustainable price increases across several sectors, including in the Greater Montreal area.
• Prices soared, resulting essentially from a historically high level of overbidding, fuelled by low financing rates.
• This situation has caused overvaluation in certain Quebec markets, mainly in the southern part of the province.
• Affordability challenges have become critical in the Montreal area, especially for young households.
• That said, affordability levels remain satisfactory in several CMAs and agglomerations, for example as concerns Montreal-based households and teleworkers.
• Widespread integration of the teleworking model into service-sector operations is an increasingly common trend. However, a shift in the balance back toward office presence is expected, considering the real costs associated with a return to a more hybrid model requiring more in-person work.
• Although we are in more of a price catch-up context in many markets—such as the Trois-Rivières census metropolitan area (CMA) and, to a lesser extent, the Quebec City CMA—speculation has taken a stronger hold in certain markets in the Montreal CMA, on the outskirts of Montreal and in many resort markets.
• The “cottage” subcategory is increasingly turning into a revenue property segment. Prices of secondary homes have exploded.
• The share of higher price ranges in overall sales is expanding rapidly.
• Condominiums are now clearly the key category for access to homeownership, across Quebec.
• Unless they consider leaving the city, young households, especially those with no access to financial support from family members, are increasingly having to resort to condominiums and give up on plans to buy a single-family home in the Montreal CMA. The least affluent and least mobile among them are giving in and staying in the rental market, with a concomitant reduction in resale market transactions.
• Against this backdrop of overall price increases, plexes have become an attractive property category because of their versatility (e.g., they can be converted into intergenerational homes) and the fact that they can tap the potential of rent increases across the province.
• Another reason for the higher number of investors on the market is the growing tendency to convert properties, especially single-family homes, into rental housing.

2. 2022 OUTLOOK| PROVINCE OF QUEBEC

Overall, the Quebec housing market is not in a bubble situation, as is the case in Ontario, for example, or British Columbia. In the Montreal region and its outlying agglomerations, however, including the booming resort markets, certain market drifts characteristic of the start of a bubble are being observed.

“With more than half of sales concluded after overbidding, half of which in turn showed a difference of more than 10% between the listed and the final selling price, it’s clear that prices have risen too fast and too high,” Mr. Brant notes, adding: “It’s important to note that this increase in prices has come at a much higher rate than economic fundamentals would suggest, even if we consider that household incomes grew at a substantial rate and outpaced inflation in 2021.”

The case of experienced buyers

Of note is the fact that experienced buyers have been able to take advantage of the explosive growth in the value of their homes to acquire the property (or properties) they want, whatever the price, in a context of supply shortage, which has fuelled a dynamics of extrapolative expectation of price increases. This, of course, has acted in combination with increasingly speculative buyer behaviours, such as increased short-term resales, but also the growing presence of investors in the market.

Heading into a bubble in Montreal?

There is indeed the beginning of a housing bubble in the Greater Montreal area, characterized on the one hand by the inability of most first-time buyers to access homeownership and on the other by the vulnerability of first-time and experienced buyers. Those who have purchased multiple investment properties, or upmarket properties, will eventually have to cope with the changing economic conditions. These buyers are vulnerable in that they are carrying increased mortgage debt and are de facto dependent on the value of their properties appreciating, or at the very least holding steady.

Possible interest rate hike

“While the surge in prices has been largely driven, and offset by, the reduction in interest rates—which have been at historically low levels since the onset of the crisis—an uptick in interest rates could significantly alter the dynamics of the market,” Mr. Brant says. “An increase in the five-year fixed mortgage rate, the most popular option for households in a context of rising rates, could lead to monthly mortgage payments by year-end 2022 that are $250 higher than those for a loan taken out in 2021 for the same average single-family home in Quebec,” he adds.

The Bank of Canada has indeed announced, earlier than expected, that interest rates will rise in 2022 so as to curb the strong inflationary pressures created by the economic recovery, increased consumption, the labour shortage, higher fuel costs, and the many supply-chain issues stemming from the health crisis. This stance by the central bank has already produced significant anticipatory upward movement in the bond market, which is already reflected in a rise in five-year fixed mortgage rates. Those increases will have a reverse effect on price movements in the various sectors as well as on the higher-price segments that have been the most affected by overbidding, overpricing and speculation.

“The interest rate hike, however, will come in time to help stop a bubble from forming in the Greater Montreal region,” Mr. Brant adds. “The market conditions, which will continue to strongly favour sellers, will readily absorb the potential return of properties to the market, maintaining the sellers’ advantage and keeping prices from falling. Instead, we will see a stabilization, or even a correction, in several segments, particularly in the higher price ranges.”

That said, the average Quebec household that renews a mortgage taken out five years ago in 2022 will see very little impact on its budget, meaning that putting a property on the market will be a risk only for those whose employment and income status has changed significantly. “We mustn’t forget that the criteria for pre-qualifying households for a mortgage (also known as the stress test) protect against the scenario of a massive return of properties to the market, especially in a context where mortgage loan quality has improved in 2021,” Mr. Brant cautions.

Retiree households

Older heads of households who are retired will have a stronger incentive to sell their property (or properties) since they stand to realize a substantial capital gain. A further temptation to sell is the fact that their pension benefits may be eroded by the inflationary surge, the duration of which is proving increasingly difficult to predict.

Rental market outlook

Given the widening gap between monthly mortgage payments and rents, and the fact that property costs are rising faster than inflation, the rental market should continue to perform well, particularly among young households in the Montreal region. “The choice between buying a condominium or renting an apartment with similar amenities continues to favour ownership after five years of possession,” Mr. Brant insists. “But in anticipation of a market cooldown, many more young households may choose to rent over the short to medium term, thus banking on an acceptable opportunity cost—that is, no financial loss.”

What to expect in the regions

“The rising costs of financing and homeownership will temper sales and price increases in the markets that have seen the most overbidding and hyperactivity,” Mr. Brant notes. “This will not, however, prevent other markets like the Trois-Rivières and Quebec City CMAs—which are more affordable and playing catch-up—from seeing still more transactions and price increases, albeit much more moderate ones.”

He adds: “The markets outside the CMAs will remain attractive, to a degree, as workplace paradigms change, with teleworking becoming accepted as an efficient operating mode in a hybrid arrangement. Transactions will be hampered, however, by low inventory in these markets and more dissuasive price points, given the increases in the cost of ownership for a single-family home, gas prices and the cost of living in general.” The situation should prevent any sharp drop in activity and enable prices to rise, to a degree, in several CMAs as well as non-CMA agglomerations—except for the resort areas in southern Quebec, which are more exposed to market correction risks.

Resumption of migration flows

Over the short and medium terms, the Quebec housing market, especially in Montreal, should feel the benefits of a resumption in migration flows, in part thanks to immigration and to inflows of residents and non-permanent workers given the labour shortage context. With the government having increased immigration quotas, the Montreal market could well remain under pressure despite the inevitable—and welcome—price corrections over the short term, particularly in the single-family category and in the upper price ranges. Generally speaking, Canada, and Quebec in particular, with its economic vitality and financial stability, should continue to attract large numbers of immigrants as growing geopolitical, economic and climate uncertainties make them preferred choices as a host country and more specifically a host province. Quebec is currently the economic engine of the country, owing to massive infrastructure investments and a diversified economic structure that emphasizes forward-looking, high-value-added industry segments—all of which extends to the regions and is being achieved in an especially stable, well-controlled political climate.

Province of Quebec

Montreal CMA

Quebec City CMA

Non-CMA

Press release
Centris Residential Sales Statistics – November 2021
Quebec City Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) 

Quebec City, December 7, 2021 – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) has just released its residential real estate market statistics for the Quebec City Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) for the month of November, based on the real estate brokers’ Centris provincial database.

“November 2021 registered a decline in sales compared to the exceptional levels of November 2020. However, we must understand that this November has turned out to be the second most active month of November ever recorded since the Centris system began compiling market data. Sales are comparable to those recorded during the pre-pandemic month of November 2019 despite the comparable level of active listings down by two thirds,” said Charles Brant, director of market analysis at the QPAREB. “The anticipation of rising interest rates is linked with this sustained activity. The subsequent result is steadily increasing prices, although more moderate than in many other markets prone to overbidding.”

November highlights

• Sales: The number of residential sales in the CMA stood at 889 in November, a decrease of only 12 per cent compared to the same period in 2020. The weakness of sales in the CMA’s peripheral areas was the main factor behind the drop in transactions in November 2021. While the agglomeration of Quebec City experienced a decrease of 3 per cent to reach 651 sales, sales in the Northern Periphery of Quebec City fell by 39 per cent, down to 89 transactions for the month. The South Shore is also of note with a more marked decline of -22 per cent (149 transactions).
• Sales by property category: A total of 531 single-family home sales took place in November in the CMA, an 18 per cent decrease from November 2020. The drop in sales was also substantial in small income properties, declining by 23 per cent (74 sales). Condominiums experienced a resurgence of interest, with 283 transactions, an increase of 8 per cent compared to the same period last year.
• Active listings: The contraction of the supply of residential properties continued in November, with total active listings reaching 2,918, a decrease of 32 per cent from November 2020. The year to date stood at 3,260, a drop of 43 per cent from 2020.
• Median prices: The median price of single-family homes was $311,500 for the month, an 11 per cent gain from the same period in 2020. The price, however, has changed slightly from that of October, which reached $320,000. Condominium prices remained stable compared to October at $220,000, which however represented a 12 per cent increase compared to November 2020. Despite a slight increase in inventory in this category, the market environment pushed the median plex price to $355,750 in the CMA in November, continuing a rally that began in August after a price drop in July. This price represented a gain of 6 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Additional information:

Detailed and cumulative statistics for the province and regions

If you would like additional information from the Market Analysis Department, such as specific data or regional details on the real estate market, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Press release
Centris Residential Sales Statistics – November 2021
Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) 

L’Île-des-Sœurs, December 7, 2021 – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) has just released its residential real estate market statistics for the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) for the month of November, based on the real estate brokers’ Centris provincial database.

“In the context of a low supply of properties on the market and persistent high demand, pressure on prices for residential real estate in the Montreal region remains strong. The good news is that in November, new listings showed signs of exceeding pre-pandemic levels when compared to November 2019 or even 2018,” said Charles Brant, director of market analysis.  “The announcement of an earlier-than-expected rise in interest rates no doubt motivated potential sellers to advance their project in order to benefit from the sustained activity and the opportunity to sell at the best price. This phenomenon also explains the higher transaction activity than in 2019 during the same period, as buyers also anticipated the same increase in the cost of financing,” he added.

November highlights  

• A total of 4,402 residential sales were posted on the Centris system in November, a decrease of 17 per cent compared to November 2020. Despite a relatively strong start to the year, the number of transactions for the first eleven months of 2021 currently stands at 50,826, a slowdown compared to the same period last year.
• On the Island of Montreal, sales declined less sharply than in the rest of the CMA, reaching a total of 1,673, a decrease of 12 per cent compared to November 2020. It should be noted that the same period last year saw a more moderate level of growth (+21 per cent) on the island compared to the rest of the CMA (+32 per cent). The current level, however, represents a gain compared to November 2019, when the number of sales reached 1,578.
• Continuing the trend of recent months, all areas in the CMA’s periphery experienced a decrease in their number of sales compared to November 2020. Again, the lack of single-family homes was the main factor in slowing sales. Vaudreuil-Soulanges experienced the strongest decline (182 sales; -33 per cent), followed by Laval (419 sales; -22 per cent), Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (100 sales; -19 per cent), the North Shore (1,010 sales; -18 per cent), the South Shore (1,018 sales; -17 per cent).
• There was a decline in sales for all residential categories compared to November 2020. Single-family homes posted a drop of 23 per cent (2,100 sales), while plexes (528 sales; -11 per cent) and condominiums (1,768 sales; -10 per cent) saw comparable decreases.
• Active listings on the Centris system declined during the month of November, after experiencing a slight upturn from July to October, although this decline tends to stabilize with more properties coming to market in November. The number of residential listings in November thus stood at 10,693, a decrease of 20 per cent compared to November 2020.
• Median prices continued their upward trend in November. The median price of a single-family home in the CMA reached $525,000. Condominiums, for their part, saw median prices drop to $374,000. The median price of plexes is now $725,000. Respectively, these prices represented increases of 21 per cent, 18 per cent and 15 per cent compared to last November. Apart from condominiums, which saw a slight decline, these median prices were also up from October 2021.
• The market context remains tense in the CMA, with a very high number of sales concluded following an overbidding process.

Additional information:

Detailed and cumulative statistics for the province and regions

If you would like additional information from the Market Analysis Department, such as specific data or regional details on the real estate market, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.