Contrary to many other large regions of Canada, the housing resale market still keeps a good pace, even if one has noticed a slight decrease of 2 % during the first nine months of the year in the Montreal CMA (Census Metropolitan Area), compared to the same period last year.
The figures have been provided by the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board, for the third quarter of 2008. The statistics originate from the MLS (Multiple Listings System) sales system. Speaking of the third quarter of 2008, one should register an increase of transactions in the order of 1 %, over the preceding year for the same period.
« The putting into place of new measures concerning maximum allowances and minimal deposits to obtain an insurable mortgage loan may have created an effect of advance buying for certain households », stresses Stéphane Duguay, market analyst at the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Registrations of properties, used on the MLS system, have increased for a second consecutive quarter. They are estimated to be at 21 425, representing an increase of 12 % compared to the same date last year.
At the level of the ‘plexes’ (2 to 5 apartments), the sales volume in the third quarter has increased by 2 % if one compares with the same period last year. On the territory of the Montreal CMA, sales prices for ‘plexes’ have shown a growth of 5 % in the last quarter, this being slightly short of the 6 % growth registered for the first six months of the year.