September Sales: Hang Onto Your Hats

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Empty-nesters, job-changers and others who are thinking of selling their large Westmount homes might think about hanging onto them for a little while — though don’t worry, you still have one of the most expensive properties on the Island of Montreal or, let it be said, anywhere in Canada. And if you need to take out an extra line of credit on your house, interest rates may have climbed about 15 points in the last month, but they are still affordable compared to the eight-percent rates at the turn of the century, not to mention 14 percent a decade earlier.

The moral of the story is that, while we may have lost all of the real estate gains made since the “pandemic crash” of 2020, the market is far from a total collapse and indeed may start back up again as early as next spring. So hang onto your hats, it may be a bumpy ride, but the market will inevitably turn upward again.

The seven sales in September equals the volume transacted in August; Westmount has posted no more than seven sales for every month since April. (seven in May, five each in June and July). Though the market has been slow, only one of the seven in September was under $2 million, at $1,500,000 for a house on Winchester Ave. The average for the month was $3,115,000 with a median price of $2,900,000. On the high side was the $6,200,000 sale of one of the large houses on Montrose Ave., again proving that the markets are not in a total collapse; this was the third-highest price posted by agents this year.

The Montrose house had a valuation only 10.4 percent more than its municipal valuation, the lowest mark-up of the month, while another house on Lansdowne near The Boulevard sold for $3,625,000, about 58 percent above tax value, the highest of the month. The average mark-up was 28 percent, the lowest monthly average since May, hence the continued drop in the average adjusted house price.

For condominiums, the third quarter averages show slightly less interest, with four September sales bringing the total for the quarter to seven, with an average price of $880,000, the first quarterly average since early 2020 to be less than $1 million. The latest is only the sixth quarter since the beginning of 2018 (out of 25) not to have high-rise condos selling for more than $2 million.

Twenty-six houses have been rented so far this year, including six over $10,000 per month; another 32 are still available for rent, in a range from $3,950 to $25,000 per month. Only three sales in adjacent-Westmount areas were posted, including two condo apartments just to the east of Westmount and one small townhouse in the “Golden Square Mile” district. That means no sales were reported on the west or north sides of Westmount during August.

Posted by andy Posted in: Monthly Analysis No Comments » September 2022