There were 3,201 residential home sales in the Greater Montreal CMA in July, making it an 8-year high for the month.
But while it may have been a relatively stellar July, the increase was only 1% compared to a year earlier and the pace of sales has been slower for the past three months.
"After a strong start to the year, sales continue to increase in the Montréal area but at a slower pace. In fact, for the past three months, sales have only increased by 1%," said Mathieu Cousineau, President of the GMREB Board of Directors.
Sales in July were driven by a 15% increase in the South Shore with gains also for Vaudreuil-Soulanges (8%) and the North Shore (3%).
Elsewhere, there were decreases in sales for the Island of Montréal (-4%) which was its third consecutive monthly decline; in Laval (-7%) and in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (-24%).
Condos continue to lead
Once again it was condo sales that were notably buoyant with 1,139 transactions, a 6% rise. Sales of plexes with 2 to 5 dwellings (303 transactions) increased by 2% while sales of single-family homes decreased by 2% (1,752 transactions).
The median price of single-family homes across the CMA stood at $336,250, up 6% year-over-year; for condos there was a 5% year-over-year rise to $265,000, and for plexes the median price jumped 9% to $528,500.
Inventory was down 17% year-over-year to 21,230.
