News

Smallest Decrease in Residential Sales in the Past Six Months

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Île-des-Sœurs, May 8, 2013 – According to the real estate brokers’ Centris® provincial database, there were 4,605 residential sales transactions concluded in the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in April 2013, said the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB). Although this represents an 11 per cent decrease compared to April 2012, it was the smallest drop in sales in the past six months.

“Sales have decreased every month since the entry into force of the new mortgage rules last July,” said Diane Ménard, Vice-President of the GMREB Board of Directors. “Despite the drop in sales, April 2013 was a better month than that of April 2011, when 4,474 transactions were concluded,” she added.

All three property categories registered a similar decrease in sales in April 2013. Sales of single-family homes fell by 11 per cent, condominium sales dropped by 10 per cent and plex sales slipped by 13 per cent compared to April of last year.

All five main areas of the Montréal CMA registered a decrease in sales in April 2013 compared to April 2012. The largest decreases, for a second consecutive month, were in Laval (-20 per cent) and Vaudreuil-Soulanges (-13 per cent), while the North Shore (-7 per cent) and South Shore (-6 per cent) posted the smallest decreases. Sales on the Island of Montréal fell by 12 per cent.
As for the median price of single-family homes, Laval ($285,000), the South Shore ($270,000) and the North Shore all registered an increase of 2 per cent, while the Island of Montréal ($380,000) registered a 1 per cent increase. The median price of single-family homes remained stable in Vaudreuil-Soulanges ($270,000) compared to April 2012. As at April 30, 2013, there were 33,099 active listings in the Centris® system, up 16 per cent compared to the same period last year. Once again, the increase in active listings was most noticeable for condominiums (29 per cent). The increase in supply was more moderate for single-family homes (8 per cent) and plexes (12 per cent). Geographically, the increase in the number of active listings was largest on the Island of Montréal (+26 per cent) and in Laval (+21 per cent). Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the South Shore and the North shore registered respective increases of 14, 9 and 4 per cent.

Source : http://www.cigm.qc.ca

Mortgage rates – how low they can go?

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Four times in the past four years, Flaherty has tightened mortgage insurance rules, each time making it a little more difficult to get home financing. And although household debt continues to hit new record highs—reaching 165% of disposable income by the end of last year—Flaherty has succeeded in slowing housing activity in Canada. But that comes at the expense of the mortgage market, which is the largest of the banks’ lending businesses. Mortgages in the banking sector are currently growing at about 6% a year—half of the pre-recession rate of growth. “The competition between institutions is so fierce that they really have no choice but to compete by offering as low a rate as they possibly can,”  says John Andrew, a real estate professor at Queen’s University.

Lenders still make money on low-rate mortgages. Their profit margins are roughly measured by the difference between mortgage rates and the banks’ own costs of borrowing, which is approximated by the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark bond rate—about 1.2%. Most of the money the banking sector lends out is provided by retail deposits, supplemented by borrowing on the “wholesale” market. The minimum spread at which a bank would be willing to offer five-year mortgages is about 140 basis points, says Ohad Lederer, a financial services analyst at Veritas Investment Research. That would put a floor on five-year mortgage rates of about 2.6%—assuming the five-year bond rate doesn’t fall any further. Variable or shorter-term mortgages are already available for even less.

 Source : http://www.canadianbusiness.com

Resserrements des règles hypothécaires – en quoi cela consiste.

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 À la suite de l’annonce du ministre des Finances Jim Flaherty sur les resserrements des règles hypothécaires, Paul Cardinal, Directeur-Analyse du marché de la FCIQ nous explique en quoi cela consiste, qui sera touché et quels seront les impacts tant pour les consommateurs que pour l’industrie immobilière.

SOURCE : http://www.fciq.tv

Real Estate Market. March 2013.

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Montréal Real Estate Market has Something for Both Buyers and Sellers

Île-des-Sœurs, April 8, 2013 – According to the real estate brokers’ Centris® provincial database, the market for single-family homes continued to favour sellers, while that of condominiums gave buyers the upper hand, said the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB).

“Market conditions for condominiums have been relaxing quickly in recent months,” said Diane Ménard, Vice-President of the GMREB Board of Directors. “In early 2012, the condominium market still advantaged sellers slightly, but after a short period in balanced territory the condominium market is now a buyer’s market, both on the Island of Montréal and in the suburbs,” she added.

The number of sales concluded in the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) decreased by 17 per cent in March 2013 compared to March 2012, with a total of 4,435 transactions. The drop in sales in Greater Montréal began with the entry into force, last July, of the most recent tightening of mortgage rules.

Sales fell for all property categories in March 2013 compared to March of last year. Single-family home sales decreased by 15 per cent, condominium sales fell by 18 per cent and that of plexes by 24 per cent.

The drop in sales in March 2013 was felt in all five main areas of the Montréal CMA. Sales decreased by 36 per cent in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, by 23 per cent in Laval and by 20 per cent on the Island of Montréal. The North Shore and South Shore registered smaller drops at 9 and 10 per cent, respectively.

As for the median price of single-family homes, Vaudreuil-Soulanges ($285,450) led the way with a 7 per cent increase compared to March 2012, followed by the South Shore ($274,500) with a 5 per cent increase, the Island of Montréal ($370,000) with a 3 per cent increase and the North Shore ($235,000) with a 1 per cent increase. The median price of single-family homes in Laval ($290,000) remained stable compared to March of last year.

In the Montréal CMA as a whole, single-family homes ($275,000) and plexes ($417,000) both registered a 1 per cent increase in median price compared to March 2012. The median price of condominiums ($222,000) fell by 1 per cent.

As at March 31, 2013, there were 32,934 active listings in the Centris® system, up 12 per cent compared to the same period last year. The largest increase was for condominiums, as the number of active listings for this property category grew by 25 per cent. Geographically, the Island of Montréal (+22 per cent) registered the largest increase, while it was barely noticeable on the North Shore (+1 per cent).

SOURCE : http://www.cigm.qc.ca

Marché immobilier. Statistiques Mars 2013.

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Marché immobilier : tant les vendeurs que les acheteurs y trouvent leur compte!

Île-des-Sœurs, 8 avril 2013 – Selon la base de données provinciale Centris® des courtiers immobiliers, la Chambre immobilière du Grand Montréal (CIGM) indique que le marché des propriétés unifamiliales est encore à l’avantage des vendeurs alors que le marché des copropriétés est quant à lui à l’avantage des acheteurs.

« Les conditions de marché se détendent rapidement pour la copropriété depuis quelques mois », indique Patrick Juanéda, président du conseil d’administration de la CIGM. « Au début de 2012, le marché de la copropriété était encore légèrement à l’avantage des vendeurs. Après un court passage en territoire équilibré, ce segment avantage maintenant les acheteurs, et ce, tant sur l’île de Montréal qu’en banlieue », ajoute-t-il.

Le nombre de ventes conclues dans la région métropolitaine de Montréal (RMR) en mars 2013 a diminué de 17 % par rapport au nombre de ventes réalisées en mars 2012, pour atteindre un total de 4 435 ventes. La diminution des ventes dans le Grand Montréal a débuté avec l’entrée en vigueur en juillet dernier du dernier resserrement des règles d’emprunt hypothécaire.

En mars 2013, toutes les catégories de propriété ont connu une baisse du nombre de transactions par rapport au même mois l’an dernier. L’unifamiliale a enregistré une baisse de 15 %, la copropriété un recul de 18 % alors que le plex affichait une diminution de 24 %.

On constate une baisse des ventes résidentielles dans les cinq grands secteurs de la RMR de Montréal pour la période comparée des mois de mars 2013 et 2012. Alors que Vaudreuil-Soulanges accusait un recul de 36 %, Laval affichait une baisse 23 % et l’île de Montréal une diminution de 20 %. La Rive-Nord et la Rive-Sud ont accusé les reculs les moins significatifs, soit respectivement 9 % et 10 %.

Du côté du prix médian de l’unifamiliale, Vaudreuil-Soulanges (285 450 $) domine, avec une augmentation de 7 %, suivie de la Rive-Sud (274 500 $) qui enregistre une hausse de son prix médian de 5 %, puis de l’île de Montréal (370 000 $) et de la Rive-Nord (235 000 $) qui présentent une augmentation de 3 % et 1 %. Laval (290 000 $), quant à elle, est demeuré stable par rapport au moins de mars 2012.

De façon plus générale, pour toute la RMR de Montréal, l’unifamiliale (275 000 $) et le plex (417 000 $) ont tous deux enregistré une hausse de 1 % de leur prix médian comparé à mars 2012. Le prix médian de la copropriété (222 000 $) a quant à lui diminué de 1 %.

Au 31 mars 2013, on dénombrait 32 934 inscriptions en vigueur dans système Centris®, soit une hausse de 12 % par rapport à la même période l’an dernier. La hausse est plus marquée du côté de la copropriété, qui voit ses inscriptions en vigueur augmenter de 25 % comparé à l’an dernier. Sur le plan géographique, c’est sur l’île de Montréal (+ 22 %) que la remontée des inscriptions est la plus prononcée, alors qu’elle est à peine perceptible sur la Rive-Nord (+ 1 %).

Source : http://www.cigm.qc.ca