After a slight slowdown in the latter half of July and the month of August, we were left wondering at the end of last month, if this was going to be the beginning of a shift in the market. 

Was inventory finally going to rise in September and continue to soften prices? Would the more stringent mortgage stress and ongoing affordability issues continue to dampen buyer activity? Had we reached the peak back in June?

Grab a cup of coffee and settle in while we review what happened in September as summer vacations ended and the kids went back to school. 

Looking at the numbers for September, it’s pretty clear that the summer slow down was primarily due to people taking some overdue time off to enjoy the summer. A lot of people decided to get away to the cottage and take a break from the hectic real estate market that has caused buyers a lot of stress and anguish over the past 24 months. 

As we had predicted, the market came roaring back both in the Single Family and Condo sectors with the median price of a single family home in the Greater Montreal area hitting $745,000 compared to August when prices dipped to $672,000 and even surpassed May when many thought they had "peaked" at $712,0000 for the year. 

Inventory did not rise enough to make any impact as we sat with only 3.6 months of inventory or just over 1,200 homes for sale. A balanced market would be somewhere around 3,000 active listings. This extremely low inventory situation continues to be the main driver of the steep price increases and lower number of sales that we are seeing across the board as supply cannot meet current demand. 

Out here on the West Island, the story was much the same in the Single Family market with multiple bidding wars and median prices jumping 22% year over year. The number of sales were down 7% compared to last year due to continued low inventory which again, put upward pressure on prices. 

Kirkland led the pack with the number of sales up 5% compared to last year and prices up 29%. Pointe-Claire was not far behind with an 11% jump in sales and a 24% jump in median price compared to last year for the same period. We’ve been seeing increased demand for fully updated and renovated homes as shortages in building materials and contractor availability are making renovations less attractive for buyers. 

The Montreal Condo market was also on fire with sales up 29% year over year and prices up 8% compared to the same period last year. 

On the West Island, the Condo market was even hotter with the number of sales up 42% and prices rising 20%, hitting a median of $383,000. Inventory was also very low in September with only 2.1 months of inventory which makes the volume of sales this year all that more impressive. 

So far, the hot market is back and we expect this strong seller’s market to continue through the fall. Look for interest rates to be the main driver of buyer demand moving forward as we don’t foresee inventory levels rising enough to have any impact. 

If you would like the stats for your neighbourhood just reach out to us and we’d be happy to send them to you. Call 514-700-2604 or send an email to info@broadywindsor.com. You should also consider joining the Homeowners Advisory Club. It’s the first real estate concierge service designed to help you protect and maximize the value of your home over time.