Montréal Area Residential Real Estate Market: March was the Most Active Month in Two Years

Île-des-Sœurs, April 8, 2015 - The Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB) has just released its most recent residential real estate market statistics for the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), based on the real estate brokers’ Centris® provincial database. In total, 4,495 residential sales were concluded in March 2015, representing a 6 per cent increase compared to March 2014 and the most active month of the past two years.

“The effects of the recent decreases in mortgage rates were finally felt on the real estate market, as many consumers were convinced that this is an opportune time to buy a property,” said Diane Ménard, Vice President of the GMREB Board of Directors. Geographically, all of the main areas of the Montréal CMA registered an increase in sales in March 2015 except for the North Shore. The South Shore stood out with a 17 per cent increase in sales compared to March of last year, and the Island of Montréal also turned in a solid performance as sales rose by 7 per cent.

The areas of Laval and Vaudreuil-Soulanges both registered a sales increase of 2 per cent compared to March 2014. On the North Shore, the decrease in sales was at 5 per cent. By property category, sales of condominiums and single-family homes throughout the CMA both increased by 7 per cent in March. Plex sales moved in the opposite direction, with 7 per cent fewer transactions compared to March of last year. In terms of prices across the CMA, the three property categories recorded a similar increase of 2 per cent, with a median price of $280,000 for single-family homes, $230,000 for condominiums and $430,000 for plexes.

Finally, the number of active listings on the real estate brokers’ Centris® system continued its upward trend, as in March 2015, there were 5 per cent more properties for sale than a year earlier in the metropolitan area. About the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board The Greater Montréal Real Estate Board is a non-profit organization with more than 9,300 members: real estate brokers. Its mission is to actively promote and protect its members’ professional and business interests in order for them to successfully meet their business objectives.

About Centris®

Centris.ca is Québec’s real estate industry website for consumers, grouping all properties for sale by a real estate broker under the same address.

Centris®, a division of the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board, offers technology resources exclusively to Québec’s 12 real estate boards and their 13,000 real estate brokers.

For further information:

Manon Stébenne Manager,

Communications and Public Relations

Greater Montréal Real Estate Board

Tel.: 514-762-2440, ext. 157 manon.stebenne@gmreb.qc.ca

Josée Labrie

Coordinator, Writing and Communications,

Communications and Public Relations

Greater Montréal Real Estate Board

Tel. : 514-762-2440, ext 222 josee.labrie@gmreb.qc.ca