Montreal Housing Market Report: May 2024 | Interactive Map | WOWA.ca (2024)

Montreal Housing Market Overview

Unlike Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary, which witnessed a year-over-year dip in sales, Montreal home sales were higher in May 2024 compared to May 2023. Being a much more affordable market compared to Toronto and Vancouver, Montreal seems to be garnering the interest of buyers, similar to Calgary. Meanwhile, the expectations around the mortgage rate cuts this year also seemed to have promoted more activity in Montreal’s housing market over the past few months, as many expected home prices to start rising again when the interest rates begin to fall.

Home Prices

April 2024’s average home sold price of $607,883 in Montreal’s housing market is a notable 2.4% growth over the average price of last May and an increase of 1.3% from the previous month. The average home price is only 0.1% below the all-time peak of May 2022 despite the interest rates now being significantly higher compared to then. Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that the price of a home in Montreal is now nearly 56% higher than the average price five years ago.

Sales and Inventory

4,563 homes changed owners in Montreal's housing market during the month of May 2024. This number reflects a 3% growth in sales compared to May last year and a 2.7% decrease compared to last month. However, the sales were slightly below the historical average recorded for May since 2000.

There were 18,996 active listings at the end of May 2024, an increase of 22% year-over-year and 0.3% from last month. There were 7,005 new listings on Montreal’s housing market in May 2024, marking a substantial rise of 16% year-over-year.

Montreal’s housing market was a seller’s market for the second month in a row based on the sales-to-new listings ratio (SLNR). This month, Montreal's sales-to-new listings ratio was 65%, varying only slightly over the past three months. An SLNR of over 60% generally means that the market is more favourable for the sellers.

Property Types’ Performance

Looking at the median prices and sales of Montreal’s property types.

• The median price of a single-family home in Montreal was $575,500 in May 2024, increasing 0.1% from the previous month and 4.6% year-over-year.
• The median price for condominiums increased by 1.7% year-over-year to a median price of $410,000 for May 2024. This is a 2.3% increase compared to last month.
• The median price for plexes for May 2024 was $780,000, up 6.8% year-over-year and 3.4% month-over-month.

Comparison with Other Cities

The average home prices in Montreal increased by 2.4% year-over-year, while Vancouver's housing market and Calgary's housing market saw average prices increase by 2.9% and 11%, respectively. Meanwhile, Toronto’s housing market witnessed a 2.5% decline in the average home price.

On the other hand, the transactions in Montreal grew by 3% year-over-year. However, transactions in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary dropped by 22.2%, 19.9% and 0.9% in the same time frame.

Meanwhile, based on the sales-to-new listings ratio, Toronto was a buyer’s market, Vancouver was in balanced market territory in May 2024, and Calgary and Montreal were both seller’s markets.

Reasoning

Montreal’s housing market activity has been influenced by mortgage rates as well as the influx of migrants since the end of the pandemic. The Bank of Canada’s (BoC’s) rate hikes led to a significant increase in Montreal mortgage rates and Quebec City mortgage rates in 2022 and 2023, making borrowing much costlier than in 2020 - 2021. This resulted in a drop in demand for housing in Montreal in the past year.

However, the BoC announced a rate cut of 0.25% in June 2024, and the 2024 interest rate forecast suggests another rate cut in the year. Meanwhile, Montreal has a more affordable housing market than Toronto and Vancouver despite being Canada’s second-largest city by population. The expectations surrounding the rate cuts and relative affordability have recently magnified sales activity in Montreal’s housing market.

The market expectations continue to change almost every week, confusing many homebuyers, which is why some hesitate to withdraw from their their TFSA or RRSP to buy a home in Montreal.

Home Prices in Montreal

Montreal Housing Market Statistics for All Property Types in May 2024

Market Overview for Single-Family Homes in May 2024

Market Overview for Condominiums in May 2024

Market Overview for Plexes in May 2024

Glossary and Definitions

MLS® HPI: The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) is an index by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) that tracks the prices of homes in a neighborhood. It allows Canadians to quickly compare home prices across Canada and between periods of time without having to account for specific features of a property. Unlike market prices, which can fluctuate from month to month based on seasonal dynamics, the HPI provides a stable view tracks trends across a longer period of time. The HPI is reviewed every year in May to adjust for changes in the real estate marketplace.

MLS® HPI Benchmark Price: The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Benchmark Price is the HPI translated into a real-world price number.

Strata Insurance: Strata insurance is insurance used by a strata like a condominium to covers damages to common areas and assets and liability to the strata. It can also include fixtures built or installed as part of the original construction of each unit, even though these may not be common structures. The insurance can cover:

• Buildings and structures associated with the strata including common areas such as the roof, parking garages, driveways, gyms, pools, etc.
• Liability for any property damage or bodily injury suffered on strata property
• Any fixtures that are part of the "standard unit" or original construction of each unit

Strata insurance does not usually include personal items and appliances that are part of a condo unit. It also does not cover the damages made by individual unit owners, such as in the case of water damage caused by a unit owner. These are usually covered by personal condo insurance.

Property types

Detached home: A detached home is your standard single-family home. It is a residential building that stands alone and is separately titled or legally a single unit.

Semi-detached home: A semi-detached home is similar to a detached home, except it shares a wall with another home. This pair of homes must make up an independent building and each should be separately titled or legally two separate units. There can only be two homes in a semi-detached building.

Townhouses: A townhouse is the middle between a detached/semi-detached home and a condo apartment. Like detached and semi-detached homes, they are often single-family units that have their own land and may be attached to other units. However, like condo apartments, they typically have to pay co-ownership fees for maintenance and may share some common features with their neighbors.

Condo apartment: This category includes all apartments and condominiums. These are complexes of residential units with common areas such as hallways, parking lots, stairwells, etc. They can be low-rise, mid-rise, or high-rise buildings. Unlike townhouses, there are no parts of the lot (the land of the building) where access is reserved for only one owner or occupant. There can be privately owned units and spaces inside the building.

Plexes are multi-story buildings with two to four individual units, usually one on each floor. They are a mainstay in Montreal and other cities in Quebec. Each unit is usually individually accessible via an external entrance with higher floors connected by staircases.

Property Classes

Freeholds: A freehold is any property where the owner owns both the house and the land it is built on. Common freehold property types include: detached, semi-detached, some townhouses, and farmland.

Condominiums: A condominium or condo is any property where the owner owns the home (or unit) but shares ownership of the land and other improvements with a condominium corporation. Common condominium property types include condo apartments and some townhouses.

Leasehold: Leasehold describes the situation where different entities own the land and the structure built on the land. Owner of the buildings has leased the land and pay rent to their landlord while owning the building on the land.