Average Montreal home price expected to increase over 12% by the end of 2022
The cost of housing continues to soar in 2022, and despite government promises to cool the market, prices are predicted to rise even more.
On Tuesday, Royal LePage released their House Price Survey and Forecast, and it predicts that the average price of a Montreal home will continue to creep higher throughout the rest of the year. With a 12.5% price increase forecast, the average cost of a home in Montreal will increase to $599,200.
Looking at single-family homes, the median price increased nearly 20% in the first quarter of 2022, hitting $636,200. On the other hand, condos will see a 17.7% growth bringing the average price to $446,700 in the same quarter.
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“We are currently feeling the cumulative effects of a chronic inventory shortage,” said Dominic St-Pierre, vice president and general manager of Royal LePage, Quebec region. “Buyers who have failed to get their hands on a property over the past two years continue to prioritize homeownership. Significantly reduced inventory has changed consumer behaviour in the property buying process. Traditionally, sellers put their home up for sale before starting their search for properties. Today, they are trying to buy their next home before their current property is put on the market, which further amplifies the inventory shortage.”
To overcome this challenge, St-Pierre recommends that sellers set a longer occupancy period, allowing them enough time to find a property that suits them.
Across Canada’s big real estate markets, Montreal’s aggregated home price for Q4 of 2022 is still substantially lower than the country’s two leading markets.
Take note of the difference between Montreal averages compared to Vancouver and Toronto:
“Remote work has transformed the real estate market over the past two years,” continued St-Pierre. “Once the epicenter of the Quebec real estate market, Montreal’s city centre has experienced lower median price increases than suburban areas for six consecutive quarters. 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. It is likely that as immigration levels continue to grow, real estate demand for the city’s central neighbourhoods will pick up.”
Royal LePage’s previous forecast from December 2021 has been revised upward to reflect the market’s continued strength through the first quarter of the year.
With files from Brooke Taylor