MLS Reporting Record Sales In Montreal for November

Records were broken on the Island of Montréal l in November, according to new MLS sales figures just released.


November 2010 MLS® sales on the Island of Montréal were a reported 1,370 sales, which is an increase of 1 %, reaching just beyond the previous record set in November 2009, according to the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board's (GMREB) MLS® statistics. Sales in the Montréal Metropolitan Area fell by 5 % in November 2010, while year-over-year sales rose by 2 %.

"November was a strong month for the Montréal area real estate market," said Diane Ménard, Vice-President of the GMREB Board of Directors. "It's true that MLS® sales decreased for a seventh consecutive month, but the decrease was much smaller than those registered in recent months. Furthermore, some areas really stood out, such as Laval, which posted a 3 % increase in sales, and the Island of Montréal which set a new November sales record," she added.

Condominium sales were of particular interest, as they were the only property to have an increase in sales in the Montréal area. There were 983 condominium sales reported, which set a new November record, overtaking the peak of November 2009 peak by 3 %. Most areas in the Montréal region saw increases in condominium sales, with the exception of the South Shore- which saw a decline of -9 %. On the Island of Montréal, in Laval and on the North Shore, the number of condominiums sold in November 2010 rose by 4, 23 and 15 %, respectively, in comparison to November 2009.

Despite the increase in condominium sales, the decrease in sales of single family homes was more significant, and they did not balance each other out. Sales for single family home were down by 7 % and plexes were down by 13% in the Montréal area. Regionally, the North Shore was down 10 % and the South Shore was down 14%, which resulted in an overall decrease in residential sales for the Montréal area. Sales in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area decreased a little bit- by 3 %.
When examining price, all of the three property categories reported a 7 % increase in median price in November 2010 compared last November. In the Montréal area, the median price of single-family homes went up to $260,750; condominiums reached $218,000; plexes reached $385,000

"These price increases are good news for sellers, as it shows that real estate continues to be a solid investment. Furthermore, selling times continued to decrease in November, which is also encouraging for sellers. There was good news for buyers as well, as they had more choice compared to November 2009 as active listings increased by 7 %," said Diane Ménard.