Home sales in Quebec rose for the 17th consecutive quarter in the third quarter of 2018.
The 5% year-over-year increase to a total of 18,798 through the province’s Centris database means a new record high for any third quarter.
Growth was seen across all three property types with condos continuing to see the strongest gains with a 12% increase to 4,387 transactions. Single-family homes and plexes both posted more modest 3% gains to 12,770 and 1,539 sales respectively.
The Quebec Federation of Real Estate Board’s data shows that four of the six CMAs gained, led by an 11% rise for the Saguenay CMA. The Gatineau, Sherbrooke and Montréal CMAs saw increases of 8%, 6% and 5% respectively.
Quebec City and Trois-Rivières posted declines of 1% and 3% respectively.
Prices post best gain in 4 quarters
The strong demand for homes in Quebec – coupled with tight supply - helped the province’s median price of a single-family home rise to $248,000. The 4% increase was the biggest in four quarters. The median prices for condos and plexes both gained 3%.
Inventory hit a 7-year low of 62,123 as active listings dropped 9% year-over-year, continuing the quarterly declines for an 11th period.
Unsurprisingly, homes sold faster in the third quarter with the average single-family home selling in 108 days, 3 fewer than a year ago; condo sales averaged 114 days, down 9 from Q3 2017; and plexes sold 1 day faster at 99 days.
