The Montreal Real Estate Blog

$80 million and three years later, the new and stylish Condo Hotel Le Crystal opens its doors for business. You know you’ve been waiting to hear about it.

The building itself is quite impressive to look at, and we’re not so worried about it’s popularity; considering they are also the owners of the trendy Le Saint-Sulpice in Old Montreal, (supposedly, one with the highest occupancy rates in the City) this new Hotel will be for sure a popular spot.

But forget about the 131 suites, what really got our attention was the 53 condos built in addition to the rooms.

According to the Gazette’s article, most of them have been already sold (of course).

“The Spa and some of the top floors are still under construction” - The condos, perhaps?

“…and are expected to be complete in the summer.”

If you want to pass by and pay a visit (even if from the outside), Le Crystal is located at:
1100 rue de la Montagne, corner of Blvd. René Lévesque. You can’t miss it, is the tallest building in that corner.

More news on condo developments? Subscribe Now!

Condo markets in Montreal and Quebec City will post moderate price growth through 2012, offering solid opportunities for first-time homebuyers and feed the need for accessible, affordable housing in Quebec, according to new data released today by Genworth Financial Canada, a subsidiary of Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW).

Genworth’s Winter 2008 Metropolitan Condominium Outlook reports that Montreal’s average resale condo price will rise from $175,555 in 2008 to
$203,591 by 2012, while in Quebec City resale condo prices are expected to climb from an average $134,872 in 2008 to $154,304 by 2012. Prices will increase, on average, 3.5 per cent a year in Quebec City and 3 per cent a year in Montreal between 2008 and 2012.

“Condos remain an affordable and attractive option for first-time homebuyers. With the average price for a detached home in Quebec expected to exceed $269,000 this year, the condo market remains an important entry point for first-time homebuyers,” said Peter Vukanovich, president of Genworth Financial Canada.

Read more »»

• Credit crunch? What credit crunch? - [Financial Post]
  “There is no sign of a credit crunch in Canada — yet.Household credit is rising at an annual rate of well over 10% with both mortgage and consumer credit growing strongly while short-term business credit is expanding at close to 20-year highs, figures from the Bank of Canada and chartered banks show.”
  Read the complete article

• Canadian households dodge U.S.-style credit woes - [Report on Business]
  “Canadians have dodged the severe credit woes gripping the U.S., where the collapse of the mortgage market has triggered rising delinquency and foreclosure rates and left households saddled with debt, says a report from CIBC World Markets.”
  Read the complete article

• Canada consumers unscathed by credit crunch-report - [Reuters]
  “Canadian households have felt little fallout from the global credit troubles, with mortgage and consumer credit expanding and no big increases in arrears or delinquencies, according to a report released on Wednesday.
  The report, prepared by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, supports the Bank of Canada’s view that the country has been less affected than Europe and the United States by the financial market breakdown that originally stemmed from the U.S. subprime mortgage market.”
  Read the complete article

by Martin Ujlaki

Hectare
An area equal to 100 meters by 100 meters

High-Ratio Mortgage
A mortgage loan higher than 80% of the lending value of the property. Such types of mortgages may need to be insured.

Holdback
The amount of money withheld by the lender during construction of a property to ensure that construction at every state is satisfactory. Read more »»

Did you know that Heritage Montreal offers Home renovation courses?

If you are a home owner- the handy type, or if you always wanted to get basic information on home maintenance, these courses are right up your alley.
You can learn about home maintenance, renovation and restoration from professionals in the field.

• How to plan your own renovation projects, find the proper resources.
• Home Inspection: How to look at a house and understand its problems.
• Understand foundation problems, their causes and solutions.
• Discover how heating, ventilation, plumbing and electrical systems work.
• How to look after the maintenance and renovation of exterior walls and roofs.
• Insulation, main dynamics and the solutions to common problems.

And we are not talking about contractors involved; the courses are actually taught by architects and engineers.

Interested? Keep on reading >>

In the last 48 hours I came across some really interesting blogs, all 100% Canadian, filled with great tips and original content.
Before going on and on about how long I stayed reading and enjoying their articles, I will leave you with this list, so you can check them out for yourself.

Also, you can find their permanent link over here, under Canadian RE Alliance, Montreal Blogs and Investment Blogs.

Enjoy!

• The Oakville Buzz
• Vaughan Real Estate Blog
• Spacing Montreal
• Quest for Four Pillars
• The Wealthy Canadian
• Canadian Capitalist
• Bob Truman’s Blog
• Montreal Real Estate Etc.

Update (Tuesday, April 1st)

…And the list keeps on growing :)

• Greater Fool
• Vancouver Reflections
• Collège Inmobilier Blog (Montreal Real Estate College Blog, in French)

Do you know of other interesting and informative Canadian Blogs?
Writing about Canadian Real Estate, Investment, Housing or Mortgages?
Let us know!

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) 2007 Mortgage Consumer Survey shows that 76 per cent of Quebecers who recently purchased a home intend to pay off their mortgage as quickly as possible, and 65 per cent of purchasers agreed that they would use extra money to pay down principal whenever they are able - over the national average of 57 per cent.

“This study confirms that Quebecers, like most Canadians, remain fundamentally cautious when it comes to managing their mortgage debt,” said Pierre Serré, Vice-President, Insurance Product & Business Development, CMHC. “The fact that new homeowners in Quebec intend to pay off their mortgages as quickly as possible, and are taking steps to do so, is a good sign.”

The 2007 national survey focused primarily on recent purchasers and also for the first time included questions on homeowner behaviour regarding mortgage debt re-payment since arranging their mortgage.

More than half (55 per cent) of recent homebuyers in Quebec are making weekly or bi-weekly mortgage payments, and three quarters of these are on an accelerated basis which has the effect of shortening the time required to payoff the mortgage. About one-third are also planning to reduce their mortgage amortization period when their mortgage comes up for renewal. Read more »»

Photographer : Denis Tremblay | Source : www.old.montreal.qc.ca

The Montreal Real Estate Blog showcases outstanding images from talented local photographers. Images are licensed with Creative Commons 3.0 . If you’d like to submit your photography, please join our flickr pool.

Photo: Payton Chung

The administration of Mayor Gérald Tremblay announced last friday, their plans to make sections of St. Paul and Notre Dame Sts. pedestrian-only each day in the summertime.

Starting from June 15 to September 15th, Rue St. Paul, between Bonsecours Market and St. Laurent Blvd., would be closed to vehicles between 11 a.m. and 6 a.m. every summer. Also Notre Dame, in front of Notre Dame Basilica, at Place d’Armes, would be closed to vehicles during the same hours and months.

• Read the full article at the Montreal Gazette.

A new report released by the Royal Bank of Canada informs us: in 2007 home ownership became less affordable nation wide, but prices stayed fairly stable in the Quebec market.

Quebec - affordability still manageable

“The nationwide deterioration in affordability conditions hit every province last year. The hit to Quebec, however, was much more muted.
A generally balanced market has helped keep affordability conditions generally in check. House prices continue to modestly outpace income gains but the gap between the two measures is expected to narrow this year as price growth moderates to the 5% range in 2008. Housing starts have been running at elevated levels (close to 49,000 units) in each of the last three years.
New home construction is expected to slow modestly in 2008 (46,000 units) and more significantly by 2009 (40,000 units) as housing markets shift into slower gear.”

• Download the full Pdf report here
  
• More on this report at the Montreal gazette website

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The luxury condo development called Sleb on the corner of St. Laurent and Ontario was originally started by Minco Construction. In 2003 by Luciano Minicucci. Dozens of home buyers invested at the pre-construction level of this project.

The project started in 2003 to be completed in 2005 and that same year Minco Construction sought bankruptcy protection from it’s creditors, since then no work has been completed in Sleb. Last November the superior court withdrew the project from MINCO Corporation to give it to Bartolo Dalle Nogare (9170-6929 Quebec Inc.), the new owner.

Luciano Minicucci was arrested in Italy in mid January 2008, for extortion against the new owner of Sleb. Read more »»

Residential Resales Pick Up in February Thanks to the Condominium

The Greater Montreal Real Estate Board (GMREB) indicated that property sales for all categories recorded a 3% increase in February 2008, according to MLS® system data, compared to the same period in 2007. Condominiums set the tone with an 18% increase in transactions.

“After being put to the test in January, the confidence of consumers in Quebec in February reached a level almost equivalent to the one recorded in 2007. The short term decrease of interest rates definitely encouraged this renewal of confidence and is excellent news for the real estate market,” says Michel Beausejour, FCA, Chief Executive Officer of the GMREB. Read more »»

According to the latest monthly starts survey conducted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), residential construction registered a strong increase this past month in centres with 10,000 or more inhabitants across Quebec. In fact, 2,810 housing units were started in February, or 50 per cent more than during the same period a year earlier.

The dynamics were different, however, depending on the centres. Starts rose by 51 per cent in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) but fell by 6 per cent in the smaller agglomerations (50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants). The Montréal area stood out by being the engine of this growth. In fact, foundations were laid for 2,167 new dwellings there in February 2008, compared to 1,262 in February 2007, for an increase of 72 per cent. Housing starts went up less significantly in Saguenay (+56 per cent) and Trois-Rivières (+ 21 per cent), while they declined in Québec (-32 per cent), Sherbrooke (-10 per cent) and Gatineau (-3 per cent). The survey also revealed >>

Condo owners pay a monthly fee to cover their portion of the operating expenses of the common property elements. A portion of this fee is assigned to the reserve fund.

The calculation of condo fees varies by province but is usually specified in the governing documents of the condo corporation. These fees are usually calculated from the annual operating cost of the entire condominium and divided by the percentage of your contribution to the common expenses (your unit factor) as outlined in the condominium governing documents and/or local legislation.
These fees may include:

• Day-to-day care and upkeep of the common property elements (e.g. snow removal, landscaping, cleaning of common elements including carpets and exterior windows, heating/cooling system maintenance)
• Contributions to the reserve fund, which is used to pay for major repairs to, and replacement of, common building systems to ensure the condominium is kept in good repair over the life of the building

Read more »»