September Sales: Frenzy

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Westmount’s fall real estate market opened in something of a frenzy in September, with five sales out of 12 over $2 million, four sales at or above asking price, the average time-on-market down to 35 days from 91 in August and 57 in July. Five houses sold within 10 days, mainly in double-end deals where the listing agent was also the selling agent.

Average price of the 12 sales in September was $1,988,150, but the average mark-up over valuation — 36 percent — helped pull the adjusted value over $2 million for the fifth month in a row. Monthly volume was just about average, but in fact the high price range for Westmount property has been holding buyers back this year; in nine months agents have posted 108 sales, compared to 145 at the same time last year and a 30-year average of 133.2.

Prices ranged from $1,130,000 for a house on Winchester Ave. to $3,850,000 for one on Aberdeen Ave. In fact, there have been no house sales under $1 million since May, when there were three. For the third month running, none off the September sales went for less than municipal value, the lowest mark-up at 18.7 percent, the highest at 54.8 percent.

While the local house market might have been frantic, the condominium market was dead — literally. One apartment sale at 2 Westmount Square was posted as having been negotiated on Aug 30, but nothing afterwards. So that leaves the third quarter with two condos sold in July and three in August for prices ranging from $455,000 to a stunning $2,900,000, which helps pull the average price to $1,323,800, but with such a small sample the number is deceiving. Average mark-up over valuation is 44.1 percent, which is way above the quarterly average for the second quarter (25.1%), when there were 21 condo sales.

The frenzy also appears to have avoided the adjacent-Westmount market, which recorded five sales in September: two houses in eastern Notre Dame de Grâce, one in the southern Côte des Neiges area and two in the “Golden Square Mile.” Prices ranged from $900,000 to $1,588,000, which is an indication prices are catching up to Westmount. Three of the five house sales and a share of a Marlowe Ave. duplex sold within a week of listing date, at or above the asking price.

Posted by andy September 2018

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