Dear Montrealers, we are now well into the Spring Market, April should be one of the most important months of the year for real estate. This year has definitely proven itself to be challenging with a very cold early spring. These days we are conducting open houses, brokers inspections with lunch-ins, we are speaking to numerous active buyers and Interest Rates are lower than ever.

Once again I would like to address one of the most popular questions I have been receiving in the past month. Day after day we read about it in newspapers, hear about it on the radio and watch it on television. How is the real estate market in Montreal, everyone seems to be expecting a crash or a significant slowdown. This speculation has been repeated year after year since I have been in the business.

During the second week of March I received a phone call from a potential buyer asking me to help him find a home in the city. Minutes into the conversation, while gathering characteristics and preferences, I discovered that the reason my client was shopping is because he was under the impression we are currently in a full Buyers Market. He thought it was the right time to buy because he would have success with a lowball offer. At this point I explained to him that the market is like a balance.

The market is not Black or White (Buyers or Sellers), it will lean from one side of the balance to the other and right now we are leaning slightly to the buyers side. As I mentioned in an earlier column, the best-case scenario is a perfect balance between sellers and buyers markets. We are and will be in a changing market for some time now. Many factors are forcing this market to the buyer’s side of the table but the low interest rates are helping out on the economical front. For these reasons alone, buyers are numerous and active in the market right now. There is no reason to think sellers are up against a wall. The Low Interest Rates are driving the market in Montreal right now.

Montreal West

This month I would like to cover Montreal West in depth for my analysis. We sold the same amount of homes this year in the month of March than in 2011, two less than 2012. We also have an increase of 3.3% on the value of sales this year on average compared to last year.

I have a new listing in Montreal West on Ballantyne N. and will be performing Open Houses this month, please feel free to come in and visit, and speak to me if you have ay questions regarding the market.