L’Île-des-Sœurs, March 25, 2020 — The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers’ (QPAREB) Market Analysis Department summarizes its latest analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Quebec real estate market, based on the most recent data collected by the Centris system of real estate brokers.
- The number of transactions in Quebec since the beginning of March 2020 does not show a significant decrease in activity compared to the same period last year.
- The number of transactions concluded in the Montreal CMA’s residential market is growing at a slower pace than in previous weeks, but the number of transactions is still higher than it was last year during the same period.
- The new listings, which have been declining in the last few days, seem to reflect a change in attitude on the part of potential sellers, which tells us that sellers are starting to prefer to wait.
- Median prices, for their part, are still recording a sustained increase compared to the first three weeks of March 2019.
- Strong demand and a decrease in active listings in several metropolitan areas and agglomerations have so far maintained market conditions that are favourable to sellers.
- As mentioned in the QPAREB’s March 18 communication, the number of transactions as well as the number of listings should drop rapidly in the coming weeks in light of the government’s directives to limit the spread of the virus.
- The suspension of open houses and the government guidelines regarding physical contact impacting physical visits to residences for sale will result in a sharp decrease in activity on the real estate market starting in April, without, however, radically calling into question, in the short term for several sectors, the imbalance in favour of sellers between the potential supply and demand for residences.