September Sales: Easing Back

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Westmount’s real estate market eased back in September , with only one sale above $3 million but only two selling below valuation, an average mark-up of 9.7 percent, and an average price just over $2 million.

Last month’s graph showed something of an anomaly, caused mostly by three sales reported in July, two over $5 million and one more over $4 million, and an average mark-up over valuation of 23 percent, the highest monthly average since the roll came into effect in January 2023. Because of the way the sales are blended with those of the months before and after, prices started shooting up in the June, July and August figures, but now are ignoring the July sales data, and prices are coming back to a still-substantial level, at about $2,700,000 for the “typical” Westmount house.

Though that figure is still strong, when we look at actual sales, both in August (with five late postings by agents) and September, the raw average prices were about $2,100,000 and only three of 21sales were over $3 million, none over $4 million. So it seems buyers are interested, but just not for the more expensive properties.

Condominiums fell off slightly in the third quarter of 2024, which includes sales in July, August and September, but except for that 1 percent drop from the second quarter, prices are still reaching a peak. In the same manner as for single-family dwellings, buyers are paying good prices for the less-expensive properties, with an average price of $963,556, the first quarterly average below $1 million since January-March, 2023. The average mark-up, on the other hand, was 16.8 percent, topping the first-quarter 2024 figure by 4.3 percent.

September recorded no new co-op apartment or share sales, in a year which has seen 15 co-op sales in buildings like 376 Redfern Ave., 4444 Sherbrooke St. and 2 and 3 Westmount Square. Adjacent-Westmount recorded five single-family sales agreements in September for prices ranging from $1,350,000 for a house on Trafalgar Ave. to $3,050,000 for one on Redpath Crescent.

This fall there are still 133 houses for sale in Westmount, up just one since mid-September, with fewer in the $1m to $2m price brackets, more between $3m and $10m, then no change for nine houses asking more than $10 million. Three houses are asking less than $1 million, the same number we logged the previous month. Agents posted four new rental agreements in September; for the year there have been 40 house rental contracts, seven of those over $10,000 per month.

Posted by andy Posted in: Monthly Analysis No Comments » September 2024