Quebec’s winter recreational property market remained strong in 2019
The median price of a single-family house in province’s alpine regions reached $303,030
MONTREAL, QC, November 28, 2019 — The Royal LePage Winter Recreational Property Survey showed that Quebec’s major resort markets reported a solid gain in sales activity and a modest price appreciation in 2019 compared to the previous 12-month period[1]. Families looking for a winter recreational property are competing to buy in some of the most coveted areas at the start of the winter season, as high demand in the province’s residential market continues to quickly absorb inventory, favouring sellers in many regions.
“A healthy economy, consumer confidence, and the province’s robust housing market are all factors that have driven buyers to purchase a secondary or main residence in the province’s alpine markets,” said Dominic St-Pierre, vice president and general manager of Royal LePage, Quebec region. “The rise in recreational sales coincides with growing household incomes, providing additional budget to purchase a property. Low interest rates and a strong job market also motivate buyers.”
The median price of single-family homes increased 1.8% year-over-year to $303,030 for a 12-month period ending September 30, 2019. During the same period, the province saw a 4.3% increase in single-family home sales. Among the six condominium markets with enough sales to produce reliable data, all markets except Saint-Sauveur experienced a median price increase. The average price of a condominium for these reporting regions was $272,751, up 11.7% year-over-year, while sales increased a moderate 2.2% over the same period.
Largest price increases
Single-family homes in Mont-Tremblant (Village) saw the biggest median price appreciation, rising 37.3% year-over-year, followed by Orford and Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, which both had a median price increase of 12.6%. Condominiums in Mont-Tremblant Village, Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury and Mont-Tremblant Station recorded the highest price increases for the same period, climbing by 37.8%, 18.8%, and 15.0% respectively.
Highest median prices
The markets with the highest single-family home median prices were Mont-Tremblant Village ($583,500), Bromont ($348,875) and Orford ($330,000). For condominiums, median prices were highest among Mont-Tremblant Station ($322,000), Bromont ($270,000) and Saint-Sauveur ($235,000).
The Mont-Tremblant Station single-family home market is considered Quebec’s most luxurious winter recreational property market. However, low unit sales in this small market excludes its inclusion in the survey.
Lowest median prices
Quebec’s recreational markets with more affordable winter cottages were Baie-Saint-Paul ($189,500), Saint-Faustin/Lac-Carré ($190,000), and Mont-Tremblant’s Saint-Jovite area ($233,500). Condominium buyers seeking value can look to Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury ($190,000), Mont-Tremblant’s Saint-Jovite area ($202,450) or the village of Mont-Tremblant ($232,500).
Regional overview
Cantley
Near Mont Cascades in Outaouais, the median price of single-family properties in Cantley decreased 5.0% year-over-year to $316,000, while sales for this property type increased by 4.0% during the same period.
Real estate broker Martin Beaulieu of Royal LePage Vallée de l’Outaouais does not view these figures as bad news for the region’s real estate market.
“The real estate market in Cantley is in good shape. Property sales have continued to rise and selling times have gotten shorter in the past year. The decline in median price comes from supply in the lower price range than last year.”
Beaulieu believes that new local businesses recently built in the municipality have helped attract buyers. Real estate and infrastructure developments planned for Mont-Cascades, as well as a federal and provincial investment to bring high-speed Internet to more homes, will help drive demand in the coming months and years.
Cantley’s population growth increased by 8.2% between 2011 and 2016, exceeding the provincial average by 5%.[2] This population increase is an important driver for real estate demand in the region.
Mont-Tremblant and Saint-Faustin/Lac-Carré
The Mont-Tremblant region holds the highest number of units sold among Quebec’s alpine regions. Considerable demand has decreased inventory, increasing competition among potential buyers. The village of Mont-Tremblant saw the highest increase in median price, rising 37.3% year-over-year for single-family homes and 37.8% for condominiums to $583,500 and $232,500, respectively.
According to Paul Dalbec, manager at Mont-Tremblant Real Estate, a division of Royal LePage, properties between $500,000 and $1 million are selling almost as soon as they hit the market.
“The inventory has dropped drastically, so when a new property becomes available, buyers line up and offers start flooding in. In the past, buyers had time to think things over, but these days, they can lose their spot to other highly motivated buyers. This supply shortage in the region is leading to an increase in land sales, as buyers choose to build their new home after struggling to find exactly what they want.”
Mont-Tremblant has always been an international holiday destination, particularly attracting European and American tourists and buyers. However, Dalbec notices greater diversity of visitors and buyers, with an increasing number coming from Asia.
South of Mont-Tremblant, the Saint-Faustin/Lac-Carré market offers some of the lowest prices among the winter recreational areas surveyed in the province. Over the 12-month period ending September 2019, the median price of a single-family home in the region was $190,000.
Saint-Sauveur and Morin-Heights
The median price in both the Saint-Sauveur and Morin-Heights regions in central Laurentians declined slightly in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2019, compared to the previous 12-month period. The median price of a single-family home in Saint-Sauveur and Morin-Heights decreased 0.5% and 0.6% year-over-year to $283,500 and $310,000, respectively.
“Healthy inventory in central Laurentians has kept prices affordable and offered excellent selection to potential buyers. Eager sellers are lowering their prices creating even more opportunities for those looking to purchase in the region,” said Éric Léger, real estate broker, Royal LePage Humania.
Léger predicts that sales in the region will continue to increase but prices should remain relatively stable over the next year. He believes that Saint-Sauveur and the surrounding area constitute one of the few municipalities near a large urban centre that offers exceptional quality of life at an affordable price. This setting will undoubtedly continue to boost real estate sales in the region.
Sutton, Orford and Bromont
In the outskirts south of the Greater Montreal Area, the median price of a single-family home in Orford and Bromont increased 12.6% and 0.1%, respectively, to $330,000 and $348,875. In Sutton, the median price of a single-family home decreased 14.5% to $295,000 during the same period. Among the three regions, only Bromont witnessed a decline in sales for single-family homes, decreasing 12.7% year-over-year, while condominium sales in that region nearly doubled, with prices rising 7.4% to $270,000.
“The majority of our clients come from Montreal searching for year-round activities so they can spend their winter on the slopes and their summer on the water,” explained Christian Longpré, agency owner of Royal LePage Au Sommet.
Longpré added that winter home sales close fairly quickly in autumn as buyers want to move in and prepare for the holiday season before snow accumulates.
Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury
Just north of Quebec City, Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury have seen an increase in buyers seeking a recreational property that will also be their primary residence. Over the 12-month period ending September 30, 2019, the median price of a single-family property increased 12.6% year-over-year to $318,000, while sales climbed 9.4% over the same period. The median price of a condominium in the region rose 18.8% to $190,000, while sales decreased 22.9% year-over-year.
Marc Bonenfant, real estate broker, Royal LePage Inter-Québec, is seeing a healthy number of well-priced luxury properties close to the slopes. Buyers looking in Stoneham will find spacious properties for $500,000 to $800,000, while a similar property could sell for over $1 million in Quebec City.
“This year, especially during the fall, buyers in Stoneham have been showing so much interest that multiple offers are common and well-maintained properties listed at the right price are selling above asking,” said Bonenfant.
“In Stoneham, the number of listings under $300,000 is currently very limited. For those looking for more selection of entry-level inventory, they should consider the Tewkesbury area.”
According to Bonenfant, an increasing number of Europeans are coming to Stoneham with significant savings to purchase properties. Short-term rentals are also in demand. On the way to Les Quarante on the east side of the mountain, zoning allows for short-term rentals, which gives sellers an advantage and puts upward pressure on prices.
Baie-Saint-Paul
In the coastal region of Charlevoix, the median price of a single-family home in Baie-Saint-Paul increased 3.6% year-over-year, reaching $189,500, while sales increased 18.0% during the same period. The region offers the lowest-priced properties among all the markets surveyed.
Although the local real estate market has had a good year, attracting workers has been a challenge, leading to labour shortages. Several initiatives have recently been launched to potentially overcome this challenge, which have focused on international recruitment and a more personalized welcome to Baie-St-Paul newcomers.
According to Jean-François Larocque, real estate broker at Royal LePage Inter-Québec, the Charlevoix market has a growing inventory of homes for sale.
“Baby boomers are slowly putting their homes up for sale in order to settle in retirement homes and reduce the burden of maintaining a property,” said Larocque. “The arrival of Club Med at Le Massif de Charlevoix will further drive the local economy, but it remains to be seen if the new developments will attract buyers to the region.”
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Royal LePage winter recreational property experts
Cantley
Martin Beaulieu
Real estate broker
Royal LePage Vallée de l’Outaouais
martin.beaulieu@royallepage.ca | 819.561.0223
royallepageoutaouais.ca
Mont-Tremblant/Saint-Faustin-Lac-Carré
Paul Dalbec
Agency manager and real estate broker
Mont-Tremblant Real Estate, a division of Royal LePage
pauldalbec@royallepage.ca | 819.425.4008
tremblantrealestate.ca
Saint-Sauveur/Morin-Heights
Éric Léger
Real estate broker
Royal LePage Humania
eleger@royallepage.ca | 450.227.7474
royallepagehumania.ca
Bromont/Sutton/Orford
Christian Longpré
Agency owner and real estate broker
Royal LePage Au Sommet
christianlongpre@royallepage.ca | 819.345.4509
royallepageausommet.com
Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury
Marc Bonenfant
Real estate broker
Royal LePage Inter-Québec
marcbonenfant@royallepage.ca | 418.561.3918
royal-lepage.qc.ca
Baie-Saint-Paul
Jean-François Larocque
Real estate broker
Royal LePage Inter-Québec
jfl@royallepage.ca | 418.635.1191
royal-lepage.qc.ca
About Royal LePage
Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country’s leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of over 18,000 real estate professionals in over 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women’s and children’s shelters and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc. company, a TSX-listed corporation trading under the symbol TSX: BRE. For more information, please visit www.royallepage.ca.
Media contact:
Chloé Lebouc
Kaiser Lachance Communications
514-662-3547
chloe.lebouc@kaiserlachance.com
[1]Median price and sales data compiled through Centris for October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019, compared to the same period of the previous year.
[2] Statistics Canada, “Focus on Geography Series”, 2016 Census
