Montreal’s overall price growth during the first quarter of the year significantly outstrips that of Toronto and Vancouver, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released last week.
The median home value in Montreal Centre enjoyed an 8.1% year-over-year increase to reach $406,332. This is far above the movements observed in the Greater Toronto Area (3.4% growth to $836,425) and Greater Vancouver (1.5% shrinkage to end up at $1,239,306).
“Greater Montreal kept up its momentum with the eleventh consecutive year-over-year price increase, rising above four per cent in the first quarter of the year,” Royal LePage for the Quebec Region president and director Dominic St. Pierre said.
“Unlike many other Canadian markets, which saw a slowdown in activity and prices, the Greater Montreal Area market remained tireless this quarter, despite the harsh winter weather. In the fourth quarter of 2018, we believed that price and sales growth would decline by the start of 2019, but the area once again defied the odds. As a result, 2019 began with a very successful quarter, gradually shrinking the gap between the Montreal and Toronto markets.”
A robust economy – especially apparent in low residual unemployment rates of 5.3% in Quebec as a whole and 7.3% in the city – proved to be a major boost for the Montreal market.
“The city’s economic health is creating increased demand among young buyers competing in the condominium market, continually driving market trends,” St. Pierre noted. “The city’s core is also attracting more foreign buyers as highlighted in the provincial budget, but these remain a small proportion of the overall transactions.”
Breaking down by asset class, the Greater Montreal Area’s two-storey homes saw a 6.4% annual average price increase during Q1 2019 to reach $514,412. Condo values also went up by 5.2% to $328,488.
Ephraim is currently a journalist at Mortgage Broker News, Real Estate Professional and Canadian Real Estate Wealth.
Ephraim is a highly accomplished news reporter whose work has been published across North America and the Asia Pacific region. Before joining Key Media, Ephraim spent eight years working as a journalist with Reuters TV. His areas of expertise include real estate, mortgage, and finance.
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