December/January Sales: Hot and Cold

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Six Westmount real estate agents returned from vacation late last month and posted sales they had accomplished in December, making what we had touted as a “busy” month into a record volume for the last month of the year, with 19 sales including four in the $2 million range and two more in the $3 million range, quite an ending for an immensely positive year.

The same cannot be said for January, which had only five more sales to report, though one was just under $3 million and another was just over that mark, two more were just under $2 million and the fifth was $1,350,000. The slow pace is symptomatic of January which (along with December) is usually among the slowest months of the year for real estate sales, but those strong prices pull the average to an all-time high. January also starts us comparing to the new valuation roll, so mark-ups over valuation were off somewhat, though the average is still 29 percent above valuation which means the market is that much stronger than it was two years ago.

The condominium market was sluggish in January, with only two apartments sold and one flat in a former triplex; two of these sold below the new 2020 valuation, so indications are that the overall condo market is not progressing at the same pace as the single-family market.

Four houses sold in adjacent-Westmount areas, including two to the north of city limits and one each on the west and east sides, with an average compared to the new valuations of 37.6 percent, higher than in Westmount proper. All four of the houses sold in the $1 to $2 million range; except for two full duplex sales on Northcliffe Ave. in November, nothing in the residential category has sold under $1 million since last August in adjacent-Westmount.

In mid-February the number of listings in Westmount had increased by only one to 96, only three of which were asking less than $1 million, though that is two more than a month earlier. The price range for Westmount houses is now $889,000 to $19,800,000.

Another 26 Westmount houses are up for rent, up from 20 a month earlier. The maximum asking rent is $19,000 per month, supporting the top rental contract negotiated two months ago at $16,500 per month.

Posted by andy Posted in: Monthly Analysis No Comments » January 2020