April: Resale’s Best Month Since Start of the Year

“Prices are still low enough for first time buyers,” said Helen Tsakalos Handfield, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Royal (Jordan) Inc., serving the West Island. “And with interest rates so low—if you have good credit, you get excellent mortgage rates.”

With low interest rates on mortgages sparking buyer confidence, today remains as good a time as any to invest in real estate, said Michel Beauséjour, FCA, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board. "It is a good time to buy a property today," said Beauséjour. "Mortgage rates are at their lowest level in more than half a century and the inventory of properties is growing, giving buyers more choice.”

In terms of prices, condominiums led the way with a 5 per cent increase in the median price in April 2009 compared to the same month last year, to reach $191,800. The median price of plexes increased by 1 per cent, while that of single-family homes remained stable at $230,500. “The market is becoming increasingly active and property prices are stable or increasing, depending on the property type,” said Beauséjour. “The price increase for condominiums can be explained by the increase in median price on the Island of Montréal (+7 per cent), which is responsible for 60 per cent of the region’s condominium sales,” he added.

But while single-family homes stayed on the market for an average of 67 days in April 2008, in April 2009, the average was 80 days. Sales of single-family homes decreased slightly by 3 per cent in April 2009 compared to April 2008, while condominium and plex sales decreased by 7 and 11 per cent, respectively.

This may be due to the fact that while the number of transactions has decreased, prices per home have gone up, said Handfield. “The perception of our clients who aren’t buying is that prices are dropping and they’re not,” said Handfield, who noted there’s been about a 3 per cent increase in price this month—an increase that’s projected to climb next month, too.

That’s because hesitation about the volatility of the market is keeping people from getting involved in the market. “People are sitting around and looking, not reacting, rather than acting,” said Handfield. “But people will realize eventually that the bad news in the States isn’t affecting us in Canada in the same way.”

While Vaudreuil-Soulanges and the Island of Montréal registered decreases of 7, 9 and 10 per cent, respectively, as at April 30, 2009, the number of active listings on the MLS system increased by 11 per cent in comparison with the same date last year.