April 17, 2023

The most affordable markets show resilience

According to the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB), 2023 began as 2022 ended: with the lowest level of sales recorded in the last 10 years.

The inability of many first-time homebuyers to qualify for a loan does not explain everything: the wait-and-see attitude of experienced buyers and sellers also played a major role in the weakening of transaction levels and the rebound in selling times. The most affordable markets have shown resilience with a level of activity that contrasts particularly with the sharper decline in the Montreal region.

Sales

The decline in transactional activity is widespread in all three property categories. With 1,415 sales in the first quarter, it was the category of small income properties that experienced the most notable decline (-47 per cent). Condominiums and single-family homes follow with respective sales of 4,920 and 11,965, dropping by 31 per cent and 24 per cent.

Median Prices

Across Quebec, the median price of single-family homes reached $400,000, down 4 per cent from the first quarter of 2022. However, this price represented a 3 per cent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

The trend is similar for condominiums which posted a median price of $349,000, a drop of 4 per cent compared to the same period last year. With a decrease of $1,000 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, the median price for condominiums remained stable.

Small income properties, on the other hand, saw a steeper drop in their median price compared to the first quarter of 2022. The median price was $450,000 in the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 13 per cent. However, the median price remained stable compared to the previous quarter.

Active Listings

There were 31,313 active listings across Quebec in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 47 per cent compared to the same period in 2022. This is the fourth quarter of consecutive increases in active listings.

Market conditions and selling times

A sign that stresses are easing in the single-family home market in Quebec, the average selling time was 61 days in the first quarter of 2023, or 15 days more than in the same period in 2022. Note that you have to go back to the first quarter of 2021 to see an average selling time that exceeded 60 days.

For more detailed statistics on each of Quebec’s regions, read the QPAREB Barometer.