Québec Real Estate Market: Third Quarter Slowdown Across the Province

Île-des-Soeurs, October 19, 2010 – There were 16,005 MLS® sales transactions across Québec in the third quarter of 2010, a 13 per cent decrease compared to the third quarter of 2009, reported the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards.
“It’s important to remember that the market was more active than usual at this time last year, as we were coming out of the recession. It is therefore not surprising that the market was down this year,” said Claude Charron, President of the Board of Directors of the QFREB. “Furthermore, since the start of the year, province-wide sales have increased by 5 per cent, which shows that the market is still performing well,” he added.
In terms of property categories, single-family homes and condominiums both registered a 13 per cent decrease in sales in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the third quarter of 2009, while plex sales decreased by 15 per cent.
Despite the decrease in sales, property prices continued to climb across the province in the third quarter of 2010. The median price of single-family homes increased by 4 per cent to reach $201,100, the median price of condominiums increased by 8 per cent to reach $200,000, and that of plexes increased by 1 per cent to reach $296,000.
“Price growth slowed somewhat in the province in the third quarter but this is not surprising as supply and demand are slowly becoming rebalanced,” said Claude Charron. “At the start of the year, the market was very active and there were fewer properties available on the market. In recent months, the demand for properties has decreased and supply increased between July and September, the first increase in four quarters. This rebalancing of the market is therefore moderating price increases,” he added.
July to September Sales Median Price (single-family) 2010 Variation* 2010 Variation* Province of Québec 16,005 -13% $201,100 4% Metropolitan Areas Gatineau 985 -16% $209,000 9% Montréal 7,538 -19% $255,000 5% Québec City 1,417 -19% $217,250 11% Saguenay 319 -4% $161,750 13% Sherbrooke 350 -15% $186,000 9% Trois-Rivières 184 -6% $149,000 10%
*Variation compared to the same period last year
Source: QFREB by Centris®
Sales Increased Outside of the Metropolitan Areas
In the third quarter of 2010, regions outside of the metropolitan areas (CMAs) were the most active in the province. While the metropolitan areas posted an 18 per cent decrease in sales compared to the third quarter of 2009, sales in regions outside of the CMAs remained stable. The agglomerations of Shawinigan, Saint-Hyacinthe, Joliette, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Sorel-Tracy performed particularly well, with respective sales increases of 30, 29, 12, 10 and 8 per cent.
As for the metropolitan areas, Saguenay was least affected by the decrease in sales, posting only a slight decrease of 4 per cent. In terms of prices, the median price of single-family homes reached $161,750, an increase of 13 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2009. The median price of plexes increased by 11 per cent to reach $162,000.
The Trois-Rivières area also registered a slight decrease in sales in the third quarter of 2010. There were 184 transactions between July and September, a 6 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year. Despite this decrease in sales, property prices continued to increase as the median price of single-family homes increased by 10 per cent to reach $149,000.
Sales in the Sherbrooke area followed a similar trend to that of the province, decreasing by 15 per cent in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2009. In terms of prices, the median price of single-family homes increased by 9 per cent to reach $186,000, while that of condominiums increased by 8 per cent to reach $140,000. The median price of plexes decreased by 14 per cent to reach $178,000; however, the number of plex transactions was quite low (35 sales), so this figure should be taken with a grain of salt.
Between July and September 2010, there were 985 sales transactions in the Gatineau area, a 16 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year. In terms of prices, the median price of single-family homes reached $209,000, a 9 per cent increase compared to the third quarter of 2009. The median price of condominiums increased by 4 per cent to reach $155,000, while that of plexes decreased by 8 per cent to reach $211,000.
With 1,417 transactions, the Québec Metropolitan Area posted a 19 per cent decrease in sales compared to the third quarter of 2009. Property prices were up however, as half of all single-family homes sold were sold at a price higher than $217,250, an increase of 11 per cent. The median price of condominiums also increased by 11 per cent to reach $180,239, and that of plexes increased by 14 per cent to reach $267,300.
Finally, the Montréal area also posted a 19 per cent decrease in sales compared to the third quarter of 2009. But prices continued to climb as the median price of single-family homes increased by 5 per cent, growing from $243,000 in the third quarter of 2009 to $255,000 in the third quarter of 2010. The median price of condominiums increased by 9 per cent to reach $218,000, while that of plexes increased by 11 per cent to reach $385,000 compared to the same period in 2009.
More Information on centris.ca™
For more information and quarterly statistics for the province of Québec, as well as its municipalities and regions, visit centris.ca™, Québec’s real estate industry website.
About the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards
The Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards is a non-profit organization composed of Québec\'s 12 real estate boards as associate members and the 15,000 real estate brokers who are affiliated members. Its mission is to promote and protect the interests of Québec’s real estate industry so that the boards and their members can successfully meet their business objectives.
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For more information about MLS® statistics for each of the province’s regions, don’t miss the MLS® Barometer, which will be released soon.
For further information:
Chantal de Repentigny
Assistant Director
Communications, Industry Relations and Legal Affairs
Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards
Phone: 514-762-0212, extension 130
Toll-free: 1-866-882-0212, extension 130
Email: chantal.derepentigny@fciq.ca