Montreal Real Estate Blog » Montreal Real Estate

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.

Has the tightening of mortgage rules affected the condo market?

As the TD Canada Trust Condo poll found young Canadians to be most concerned about affordability, it is not surprising that many in this age group said the new amortization change to 30 years for new mortgages had a significant impact on their decision to choose a condo over other types of homes (63%). Lending law changes didn’t influence Canadians over 50; three-quarters say the changes to lending rules had no effect on their decision to consider a condo.

Somewhat alarmingly, the poll found that more than one-quarter of Montrealers who intend to buy a condo (26%) were not aware of the recent changes to lending rules. Nationally, this number was even higher (39%) among those under 35. “If you’re planning to apply for a mortgage, it’s essential that you understand the lending rules and the options you have. This allows you to weigh the pros and cons of different mortgage options and make well informed decisions about the type of mortgage you choose and the size of down payment you can afford. This can save you a lot of money in the long run,” says Marchildon. “There are experts at the bank who can walk you through different mortgage options and help you find the right solution for you, including a variety of flexible mortgage payment features, which can give you the choice to manage your mortgage payments, which is something that you may need in the future.”

Condos popular with boomers but for different reasons than young Canadians

Those over 50 are attracted to condos because they fit into their plans to downsize their home. Not surprisingly, when those over 50 move into a condo, 31% don’t plan to move again. Since they plan to stay put, many over 50 are making their condos as comfortable as possible, with 53% planning to spend more than$10,000 on upgrades (compared to only 15% of those under 35).

“Moving to a smaller, less expensive home can sometimes be called ‘right-sizing’ and allows many pre-retirees to afford a bit more luxury in their new space,” says Marchildon. “If homebuyers plan to make upgrades, I recommend they make a budget and stick to it. Especially for those who are selling their home and downsizing as part of their retirement strategy, it’s important not to get carried away and spend all the extra money you earned with the sale of your previous home.”

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/24500–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.

Our team in the News: McGill Immobilier and the Montreal Condo Market

Deya Bautista — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:15:59 +0000

Échos Montréal, Old Montreal local paper, issued an article last month about new construction condos and the McGill Real Estate Team. The article discusses the Condo market in Montreal, and the facts that makes the condo market still a favorable choice for buyers.

If you don’t know about McGill Immobilier, we are a boutique agency that specializes in Marketing and Selling New Condo Projects. The first one of its kind in Montreal.

You can find a copy of the article in here. It’s written in French.

We had also a group shot that came out fabulous! Although not all of the agents were present, in this picture you can get to know then team a little.? The names are given at the bottom of the image. And they misspelled mine.

Can you guess where I am in the picture?

Old Montreal building: now for sale by the City of montreal

Deya Bautista — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:08:57 +0000

I’ve been following the progress on the new look of this building. First it was this abandoned front, then the make-up crew came into action, with a beautiful new cover .
Before I even got the chance to write about the airbrush design on the new cover of 22-26 Notre Dame ouest, there was a new sign on it.

“A vendre par appel d’offres publiques”

So now the city is taking offers for this building, or whatever is left of it.
I made a call to see what the starting bid was at, and what I got is the following info:

Starting bid: 1.3 Million.
The building has a front (Notre Dame) and back entrance (des Bresoles)
The city had decided to start taking offers from May 25th, but now the dates have been suspended (they don’t know yet the new deadline)
Reason for suspension: they want to make sure the basement isn’t contaminated, they are doing tests, etc and will notify the interested parties once they have the report in hand.

Certain Conditions Apply

The building’s facade (on the Notre Dame) side must preserved, as it is protected by Le ministère de la Culture.
The new construction must begin within the first 3 years after the sale.
The zoning must be respected (of course!). Lanuckily, this is already a semi commercial area. So you can build stores in the main floor and condos at the top :)

A little investigation on my own shows me that the municipal evaluation (VALEUR AU RÔLE 2007 EN DATE DU 2009-03-28) is:
Land: $538,200 Building: $111,800 Total: $650,000
Not so high, is it? It’s obvious the location is what’s making the property interesting, because there’s not much of a structure to look at.
Will it go for the asking price? Higher bids? Not sure.
The local merchants are all aware of the sale, and while in the area I asked one of them:
- So, when are you submitting your offer?
Their response: For that price? Are you crazy?

What do you think?