Is Montreal a seller's market? Depends if you own a home or condo

Montreal's real estate market tended to favour sellers in 2016, after home sales went up for the second year in a row.

But experts warn that may not be the case this year.

A total of 39,926 single-family homes, condominiumsand other residential properties were sold last year, marking a five per cent increase from 2015, according to figures from theGreater Montreal Real Estate Board.

Property prices were on the risefor the second consecutive year, after four straight years on the decline.

Even if it's getting more costly, however,buying a home in Montreal remains far more affordable than red-hot markets like Toronto.

The average property in the Montreal area went for$349,573 less than half of Toronto's average of$729,922.

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Depends on the neighbourhood

The Montreal market was especially favourable toward homeowners selling single-family houses, since buyers tend to be drawn in by the relatively affordable prices compared to other Canadian cities.

Paul Cardinal, director of marketanalysis at the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards, said 2016buyers targetedhomes in Ahuntsic, Nuns'Island and the borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal.

Cardinal said there was a strong market for sellersinMontreal's more expensive neighbourhoods such as Westmount, Outremont and Town of Mount-Royal.

"The majority of the sectors west of the island were already a sellers' market," he said.

It was also a strongmarket for homeowners in Boisbriand, Laval and Sainte-Thrse,as well asBrossard, Longueuil and Boucherville.

Condos are another story

Condominiums, however, are not selling at the same rate.

Thousands of condominiums have popped up in the Montreal area in recent years, especially downtown, and many of them remain unsold or unoccupied.

"We are still in a market where the buyer has more [power] than the seller," Cardinal said.

"The surplus narrowed significantly in 2016. We are not far from balance, but the vast majority of sectors remain to the advantage of buyers. One of the only exceptions is the southwestern part of the island of Montreal, which includes Griffintown and Saint-Henri. On the South Shore, we have Boucherville and Saint-Bruno."

Will the trendhold?

Overall, Cardinal expects sales to drop slightly in 2017, given the new mortgage requirements introduced by the federal government last fall.

A possible hike in interest rates could also discourage people from taking out a mortgage, he said.

Still, Cardinal said Quebec's strong labour market and low unemployment rate will ensure a strong real estate market in the coming year.

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