What's happening in the Montreal real estate market at the beginning of 2024
Hi all! Today my post is for those who are planning to buy a home in Quebec this year, or have thought about it before.
I'll share with you my impressions of what's going on at the beginning of the year, but first let's take a look back at the past year.
2023 was generally calmer than the previous year, prices experienced a peak and here new opportunities were found for those who know how to analyze and wait.
After the constant increase in rates by the central bank, many buyers simply postponed the purchase until later. At the same time, there are always some sellers who will reduce the price. The reasons may vary. Someone needs to sell at any cost. Someone got used to choosing from a variety of offers and suddenly discovered that the number of real buyers to whom the bank would give a mortgage under the new conditions has sharply decreased.
Thanks to the right analysis and taking advantage of the moment, my clients were able to acquire assets at competitive prices last year.
For example, at the beginning of 2023, my clients purchased a triplex, the real cost of which increased by $100 thousand after just six months.
Initially, this property was on the market for 8 months. There were several potential buyers, but they could not get a loan due to high interest rates. And when we offered our price, which was immediately 10% lower, the seller agreed, because he was afraid that he would not be able to sell the triplex.
Everyone knows that December is a fairly quiet month in the real estate market. Holidays, holidays, vacations. And suddenly December 2023 turned out to be the most active in 10 years of my work as a realtor in Montreal.
In general, this is exactly the trend I described in two previous posts. Read it if you want and haven’t seen them yet.
In a nutshell:
- Banks lowered rates without waiting for the Central Bank. Now there are more people qualifying as borrowers.
- Buyers feel that the price reduction has ended and there is no point in waiting any longer. Those who managed to complete transactions during this period will certainly benefit. Provided that they had a competent realtor who helped them choose the right property, conducted negotiations... and so on)
I work throughout Greater Montreal, during the day I can be on the South Shore, beyond Laval in the north, in the western part of the island, in the east - and I clearly see this trend.
Big revival in January (again, see previous post). Market-priced homes get a lot of views.
There are many who want to sell and many who want to buy. The situation is the same both on the island of Montreal and in the surrounding area.
And this is all before the Central Bank began lowering rates.
If you are currently thinking about buying a house or apartment, but are not sure how best to proceed, I will help you develop a personal financial plan. It is created specifically for your family. We can consider different options: buying a home for family life, investing in an apartment for rent, or buying a property for resale.
Even if you are just not sure what to do, I will help you find the right solution.
Together we will develop a strategy that will work for you today and in the future, including plans for 5, 10 and even 20 years.
