Montreal Real Estate Blog » Montreal Real Estate

Have Quebec Properties Become Unaffordable? Read This!

Deya Bautista — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:28:34 +0000

This is one of the most informative articles on quebec Housing economy published this year. The FCIQ released the latest Window on the Market newsletter, in the section “A word from the Economist”, this month’s issue discusses the price increase in Quebec’s market since the 1980′s until the present date (and then some forecasts).

Get the ultimate answer to the perennial question:

How affordable are properties today compared to previous decades?

Here are some snippets from the article, along with graphics to illustrate the market changes over the past 3 decades. I highly encourage you to read the original article, to save it and/or print it. It will make a great Market Reality Check. Knowledge rules.

“Many people believe that the dramatic increase in property prices in Québec in recent years has made residential real estate unaffordable for first-time buyers (the average price of single-family homes increased from $110,849 in 2000 to $247,054 in 2011, a 123 per cent increase).

However, household incomes have also increased over the years and historically-low borrowing costs have helped to significantly reduce the financial outlay required to purchase a property. Ultimately, how affordable are properties today compared to previous decades?

Calculating the mortgage carrying cost, meaning the proportion of income that must be allocated to the monthly mortgage payment in order to buy a property, will help us accurately answer this question.”

Source: FCIQ.ca

Posted By: Deya Bautista - Real Estate Broker working as part of the McGill Immobilier team. Specializing in high end condos in downtown and Old Montreal. For buying or selling contact Deya at: 514.917.7889 http://montrealrealestateblog.com/

News Roundup: Horse Palace,Plateau Snow Banks & RBC Report

Deya Bautista — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:00:08 +0000

What graced the front and inside pages of our papers? Here is the scoop of Montreal’s Real Estate & neighbourhood news: The horse palace purchased by a Griffintown Developer, Plateau let’s the snow banks melts, and let’s not forget: RBC made a false claim on its latest Montreal market report. No more bungalows for the Montreal area.

After a couple of months of uncertainty about the Horse Palace’s future, finally a Griffintown Developer Buys it.”The site won’t be demolished and turned into condos” Developers sais, but opposition don’t seem to believe much of it.
Plateau saves 1M on snow clearing costs by letting the snow backs melt. Critics went wild. Now, residents are consulted on how money should be spent.
RBC gave its latest report a “slump on the market”, when it came to Montreal resales. The Montreal Real Estate Board latest stats, depicts a high sales market. RBC has made a revision reflecting the actual numbers and reality of the market in Montreal.
Thanks to the Plan Metropolitan of Planning and Development (PMAD), families will have more difficulty finding a bungalow in the Montreal area. Condos and Townhouses are on the menu.
Maxime Bergeron writes on Old Montreal’s Cité du multimédia: Tenants are back. The building has a lower vacancy rate, and all due to the changes in the neighbourhood: The several condo projects under construction in the area, the opening of new trendy restaurants and boutiques. Along with “the planned dismantling of the Bonaventure, which bounds the eastern city of multimedia, should further enhance the attractiveness of the neighborhood a few years.”

[Plateau residents parking with style. The Gazette]

Commute is driving Montrealers into condos downtown

Deya Bautista — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:00:55 +0000

- TD Canada Trust Condo Poll suggests condo affordability is key for young homeowners -

MONTREAL, May 10 /CNW/ – Many Montrealers are attracted to condos because they want to live downtown and cut down their commute. In the 2011 TD Canada Trust Condo Poll, which surveyed Canadians who are thinking of buying, or recently bought a condo, more Montrealers named these two reasons as the main motivation for their condo purchase than respondents in any other city. The poll found affordability to be another main reason for Montrealers’ interest in condos (42%). Across all cities surveyed, affordability was most important for respondents under 35-years-old (62% versus 46% for other age groups). This age group seems to view condos as a stepping stone into homeownership, with many planning to move in the not too distant future. But, is this a good strategy?

“The convenience of living downtown and cutting down the commute time is making condos an attractive option for many Montrealers who view them as an affordable alternative to a house,” says Christine Marchildon, Senior Vice President, Quebec Region, TD Canada Trust. “However, if you ultimately hope to own a house and plan to move from your condo in a few short years, I strongly encourage you to calculate the costs that you will incur, such as condo fees, parking fees and moving expenses. Depending on how soon you plan to move, these costs could outweigh the equity you’ll build and receive from the eventual sale of your condo.”

What do Montrealers say are the most important features in a condo?

The top feature Montrealers look for in a condo is a balcony (92%). They also say low condo fees are important (91%) and nine-in-ten Montrealers (89%) said they wouldn’t pay more than $400 in monthly condo fees. These figures remain consistent with findings from a similar poll conducted by TD Canada Trust in 2010. Attractive interior design features (89%) were also important. Nationally, those over 50 are more likely to say attractive exterior design is an important consideration (88%), whereas younger respondents were more concerned about being close to public transit (85%) and near theatres, restaurants and shopping (85%).

Home Sweet Home – but for how long?

Four-in-ten (41%) Montreal respondents expect to live in their condo for three years or less (14%) or four to six years (27%). Nationally, the number planning for a short stay jumps even higher amongst respondents under 35. In fact, across cities surveyed, nearly one-quarter (22%) of respondents in this age group said they don’t plan to spend more than three years in their condo and another 45% plan to move after four to six years
Continue reading: Commute is driving Montrealers into condos downtown

Posted By: Deya Bautista - Real Estate Broker working as part of the McGill Immobilier team. Specializing in high end condos in downtown and Old Montreal. For buying or selling contact Deya at: 514.917.7889 http://montrealrealestateblog.com/

How’s the market: June & July 2010

Deya Bautista — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:00:05 +0000

Catching up with the market updates. August’s market report is not out yet, and while we wait for the new numbers, here is a quick review on how the previous months performed: In terms of sales and active listings, the months of June and July were quite similar.

Compared to 2009, both months had a decrease in sales.

June’s total sales were down by 19%, while July’s decrease was 26%.
There was also a decrease of the active listings during these two months: 10% less for June and July followed with -7%.

Regardless of the slow market, the median prices of went up.

In June, median prices for Single Family Homes, Condos and Plexes* increased by 8%.
July median prices shows an increase of 5% for Single Family Homes, 8% for condos and 9% for Plexes*

* Plexes (2 to 5 dwellings)

View the complete reports: June 2010 | July 2010. Source: GMREB

The Main’s high vacancy rate

Deya Bautista — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:19:29 +0000

Back in April, I took some pictures of The Main between Sherbrooke and Pins, and I noticed the abundance of empty office/store spaces in the area. Clothing stores like American Apparel, and the infamous MAC cosmetics store are now gone.(The horror!)

The Shed Cafe has been replaced by McGibbings Pub (double horror), and a few of quebec-designer boutiques have vanished from the street.

Makes you wonder: what the heck is going on? Why is everyone leaving?
The first few reasons that came to mind were: Rents are too high, or maybe the business taxes have sky rocketed? Not enough traffic in winter=Low sales.
Or could have been because of the repeated amount of work done on the street (sewers, new side walk, you name it- they’ve done it)

Well, as it turns out, it has been a combination of all the above.

Recently, La Presse published an article on it where Anabelle Nicoud covers the factors involved in the downward slope of the Main. In her article “Quand la Main décline: après le clinquant, le vide”, Mme Nicole explains the reasons behind the high vacancy rate in the Main:

“Les travaux se sont non seulement étirés en longueur, mais leur fin a coïncidé avec le début de la récession. Martin Delisle, de la boutique Blank, dit avoir observé, comme d’autres commerçants, une baisse de 30% de son chiffre d’affaires cette année. Malgré tout, les impôts fonciers ont augmenté et les loyers restent souvent inabordables.”

Read the complete article at La Presse

Investing in Montreal: What is the next trendy district ?

Deya Bautista — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:30:58 +0000

Another good video blog-post by McGill Real Estate Blog. Patrice Groleau explains the main differences between the East and West areas of Montreal, and why it is better to consider investing on the west side. Here is the video. Enjoy!

Condos for less than 100K?

Deya Bautista — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:15:13 +0000

Recently one of my readers asked me if there was still condos available for less than $100,000.
I don’t often come across properties within this price range, but for the sake of knowing what you can get for that price, I did a quick search and found that:

Homes for less than 100k are often mobile homes.
Condos are still available, but they are quite small and in need of major renovations.

The condos found under this criteria were mostly found on the east end (R.D.P/ P.A.T), some others in Ahuntsic and one in Côte-des-Neiges. Here is a compiled list of the properties available (PDF file), these properties are listed with different brokers.
Not all the properties have many images, but it gives you an idea of what you can get for that amount of money in today’s market.