Prices For Montreal Homes For Sale Jumped Again & They'll Probably Increase Even More

If you're looking to break into the promised land of Montreal homeownership, you might've already given up on that stately Victorian home on a tree-lined street anywhere near the downtown core.

But looking at the newest real estate report from Royal LePage, it's clear the ridiculous prices aren't limited to the infamously unaffordable Montreal homes for sale in Outremont, Westmount, the Plateau-Mont-Royal or Notre-Dame-de-Grâce because the suburbs are witnessing a major real estate boom of their very own.

While the median house price in the city centre saw its first quarterly decline since the start of the pandemic (though it still surged 14.3% year-over-year), "the median price of a single-family detached home on the South Shore, on the North Shore and in Laval increased 23.6%, 23.5% and 23.3% year-over-year, respectively, representing year-over-year increases of $110,900, $95,050 and $118,000," states the report.

According to Dominic St-Pierre, vice-president and general manager of Royal LePage's Quebec division, you can blame remote work and the pandemic for causing a flight to the suburbs resulting price increases.

"Once the epicentre of the Quebec real estate market, Montreal's city centre has experienced lower median price increases than suburban areas for six consecutive quarters," he stated. "This urban sprawl has particularly favoured the province's suburbs and recreational markets, with buyers willing to find property much further away than before to access the quality of life they seek."

However, as immigration increases, demand for property in the city's centre "will pick up," he added.

Overall, demand for real estate in the Greater Montreal Area is far outstripping supply, which sent the aggregate price for all residential property surging 15.4% year-over-year to $571,000 during the first quarter of 2022.

During that time the median price for a single-family home in the Montreal area rose 19.8% to $636,200 while the median price for a condo climbed 17.7% to $446,700.

In light of the "stronger than expected" increase in home prices, Royal LePage is predicting the aggregate price in the GMA will increase a further 12.5% by the end of the year compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, to $599,200.

The Bank of Canada recently increased interest rates but this is "unlikely to affect real estate demand in the short term," states the report.

"We are currently feeling the cumulative effects of a chronic inventory shortage," stated St-Pierre.