Buyers anticipate an overheated market and take action
QPAREB economists present their analysis of the first quarter of 2024 using Centris' provincial database. Discover the real estate market statistics for the first quarter of 2024 concerning the median price across the province, the total number of transactions and the regions with the most significant variances.
Provincial median price by property type
- Single-family
homes: Median price
rises to $439,000, which represents an increase of 10 per cent compared to the
equivalent period last year.
- Condominiums: median price rose by 5% to $365,000
- Small income properties: median price climbed to $520,000, a sharp increase of 15%
Median price by CMA for single-family homes
Montreal: $553,250 (+5 per cent)
Quebec City: $365,000 (+8 per cent)
Gatineau: $453,800 (+6 per cent)
Sherbrooke: $401,000 (+15 per cent)
Drummondville: $345,000 (+10 per cent)
Trois-Rivières:
$337,650
(+21 per cent)
Saguenay: $280,000 (+10 per cent)
Sales
- Total of 21,337 residential sales in the first quarter of 2024.
- 17% increase in residential sales compared with the first quarter of 2023.
- The property category with the greatest increase in transactional activity was plexes, with +26 per cent, for a total number of transactions of 1,773. Single-family homes (13,832 sales) and condominiums (5,661 sales) follow, up by 16 per cent in both cases.
- Rawdon, +43 per cent, and Saint-Hyacinthe, +35 per cent, were the localities with the largest sales gains compared with the same quarter of 2023. Rivière-du-loup (-21 per cent) and Victoriaville (-19 per cent) suffered the biggest declines.
Selling Times
The average
selling time for single-family homes in Quebec was 64 days in the 2024 first
quarter, 3 days more when compared to the first quarter of 2023. Condominiums
and small income properties followed at 62 days and 83 days, respectively. Both
categories post the same selling times as the first quarter in 2023.
Market Conditions
Across the
province, the number of months required to sell the inventory of residential
properties on the market remains at a level that favours sellers, despite the
increase compared to the same period last year. The number of months needed to
sell the inventory has thus risen from 4.3 months to 5.1 months (all categories
combined).
Buyers seem encouraged by the likely prospect of lower interest rates, and
appear to be making a strong comeback in the property market. “This is the
first quarter since 2021 to have posted a double-digit rise in sales, something
we have not seen in the last ten quarters. This rebound in activity was
observed in all CMAs across the province, with the exception of Gatineau and
Trois-Rivières. These results, however, must be put into perspective: although
the number of sales seems to indicate a recovery, which will have to be
confirmed in the second quarter, it remains slightly below the historical
average for this period of the year,” notes Charles Brant, QPAREB Market Analysis
Director.
For more detailed statistics on each of Quebec’s regions, read the QPAREB
Barometers and visit https://apciq.ca/en/real-estate-market/
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See also:
First-time homebuyers: What are the costs to expect in the first year?