Montreal home sales see record April but the market is not accelerating: QPAREB

Photo: The Canadian Press

A real estate sold sign is shown on the west island of Montreal.

The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says April set a new record for Montreal area home sales, but it shouldn't be viewed as an acceleration in the market because the COVID-19 pandemic is skewing comparisons.

The association revealed Wednesday that 6,237 homes were sold in the area last month, up from 1,882 last April but down from 6,348 in March 2021.

QPAREB said the month's sales should be seen as steady because they haven't changed by much since March and because last April was the first full month of the pandemic, which caused sales to dramatically tumble.

Charles Brant, the association's director of market analysis, attributed much of the activity seen in the market in April to condo sales, which amounted to 2,466 in April.

That figure was up from 673 at the same time last year but down from 2,630 in March 2020.

Meanwhile, single-family home sales were 3,114 in April in comparison to 1,043 last year and 3,090 in March.

"It is astonishing to note that sales of single-family homes are below the level recorded for the same period in 2019," said Brant.

"The low inventory of single-family homes for sale and the dramatic increase in prices in April continue to drive the demand for condominiums, which are more affordable and have lower maintenance and renovation costs."

The median price of a single family home reached $500,000, up 39 per cent from $360,000 last April, while the median price of condos jumped to $357,750 from $289,900 in the same period.

With median prices reaching such highs, the association said market conditions are still heavily favouring sellers.

Those looking to buy had about 7,183 new listings to choose from in April, compared with 1,644 last year and 8,064 last month.

Active listings totalled 11,559, an 11 per cent decrease from 13,059 last April and 3,629 in March.

When compared with April 2020, active condo listings increased by 22 per cent, while those for single family homes dropped by 40 per cent to sit at an all-time low of 4,249.