October Sales: Volume strong with lower prices

 

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Volume remained strong but the raw average house price in Westmount actually dipped below $2 million in October, as 13 sales agreements were posted by local agents who reported an average price of $1,966,154, the first time the average price has been less than $2 million since April, 2020. The October sales averaged 28 percent higher than municipal valuation, the lowest average mark-up since May, but once adjustments are made for extreme sales, the average adjusted price appears to be holding its own. For a house with an evaluation of $1,936,000, the statistics tell us, owners might expect to get something over $2,600,000.

In October the highest price was only $3,700,000 while another summit-area house price was recorded late for September with a price tag of $5,125,000, thus making it the highest price for that month. The lowest October price was $1,270,000; significantly, only four of the 13 sales were priced over $2 million, but the average mark-up over valuation was 28.6 percent and none of the sales involved mark-downs from tax value.

The average listing spent 73 days on the market, and perhaps more important, the median length of time was only 36 days — a little more than a month — meaning this is still a “seller’s market.” Bidding wars were not uncommon and few asking prices had to be reduced before sales were negotiated.

Among condominiums, 6 more were sold in October with an average price of $1,061,667. The average has been over $1 million since early last year, and the “adjusted” value of Westmount condos has been over $1 million since the first quarter of 2019. Condo prices ranged from $500,000 to $1,450,000; the highest mark-up was 35.6 percent, but there were two marked-down properties, one at at 285 Clarke Ave. and the other at 200 Lansdowne Ave, the latter some 8.2 percent less than valuation.

As the holiday season approaches, listings (at least for houses) are starting to dwindle, down from 84 in mid-October to 81 a month later, though the number asking between $1 million and $2 million actually grew to 18 from 14. Another 11 houses are available for rent, down only one in the past month, for houses asking rates between $3,000 and $14,900.

Posted by andy October 2021

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