March Sales: COVID-19 Takes its Toll

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The second half of March was virtually cancelled in the Westmount real estate industry, as the Quebec government declared brokerages and sales reps as a “non-essential industry,” basically forbidding visits, meetings and negotiation of deals between buyers and sellers. Open houses have been banned. Notarial services were outlawed briefly but have now been deemed an essential service and can proceed with electronic signatures; the same, apparently, for building inspectors and surveyors, who just got their “essential” label back. Appraisers have revised their methods and may rely on “virtual visits” to properties.

Westmount logged seven sales in March, only two of which were negotiated after March 15, probably based on earlier visits or ongoing discussions. Of the seven Westmount one- and two-family dwelling sales posted in March, the lowest price was $1,500,000, the highest minimum monthly price in Westmount’s history, and ranged up from there to $2,965,000, hardly an indication of the pessimism some buyers might have been hoping for. The average price rebounded to $2,075,714 and the adjusted average price — representing the “typical” Westmount house — climbed back to $2,220,000 after dipping in February. Whether the struggling economy can hold this level remains to be seen, but certainly the distribution of economic factors is going to change.

Agents posted two condominium sales in March, one as late as March 24 for an apartment in an older building on de Maisonneuve Blvd., for $495,000, the lowest price in the first quarter of the year, but in fact this was for 37 percent more than its municipal valuation, the highest mark-up for seven sales in the first three months. The other March condo sale was dated March 13, for a $650,000 newer unit.

In adjacent-Westmount areas, it appears eastern Notre Dame de Grâce, which posted 37 sales in all of last year compared to southern Côte des Neiges’ 22, is losing out to its northern district this year. In the first three months we have seen only one sale in eastern NDG while there have been four in southern CDN, with an average price of $1,536,500, almost the same as in 2019. Two sales in the “Golden Square Mile” and four in the Trafalgar-Daulac section round out the adjacent-Westmount sales so far.

By mid-April, there were still 98 active listings for Westmount houses, down only two from a month earlier, none under $1 million but still four over $10 million. Thirty houses now are for rent in Westmount, up from 22 a month earlier. So far five houses have been rented in 2020, ranging from $3,650 to $8,800 per month.

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