Tag Archive for “Montreal”

The Montreal census metropolitan area has experienced an increase in housing supply this year, mostly fueled by condominium listings, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation expects much of the same in 2012.

According to a recent CMHC report presented at its annual Housing Outlook Conference, residential housing supply will exceed its 2011 totals next year, while MLS sales will reach 41,500, a 3.2 percent rise from last year but still below 2010 levels.

The CMHC also predicts condominium construction will decline next year, as will residential housing starts as a whole after a projected 2.7 percent decrease in 2011, the report said. Montreal's rental vacancy rate will slightly fall to 2.3 percent during the next 12 months, CMHC forecasts. Continue reading »

Canadians have recently expressed desire to only pay for select real estate agent services when buying or selling a home, but now the agents are engaging in a similar battle.

According to a Montreal Gazette report, regional real estate organizations, such as the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board, are urging the Canadian Real Estate Association to adopt a similar free-for-service standard for its members.

The GMREB would consider leaving the the CREA at the end of next year if such changes aren't initiated, the report said. CREA's membership dues will rise 41 percent from 2010 to 2013. Continue reading »

With low mortgage rates and an increasing amount of available property, the Montreal metropolitan area's real estate market is a buyer's dream.

According to a recent Greater Montreal Real Estate Board report, existing home sales rose 7 percent in October from the same month of 2010, the largest jump since the beginning of this year.

Condominium purchases fueled the significant sales increase, rising 13 percent from October of last year. With active listings up 15 percent and buyers having a wealth of residential options, home prices have remained relatively stable, as single-family prices ascended 3 percent year-over-year. Continue reading »

According to a new report by the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board, prices of single-family homes in the Montreal area increased by 6 percent in September 2011 compared to one year ago, boosted by low mortgage rates.

The median price for a one-family house in Montréal reached $266,750 in September, while condominium prices escalated to a median of $220,000, a 2 percent increase.

"Sales were most dynamic on the Island of Montréal and in Laval compared to September 2010," said GMREB vice president Diane Ménard. "In fact, the number of transactions increased by 8 percent on the Island of Montréal and by 5 percent in Laval. For the Island of Montréal, this was the second busiest month of September in over 10 years" Continue reading »

Recent Survey Finds Vast Majority of Calgarians are Happy – and Satisfied with Financial Well Being

The Calgary Foundation released its 2011 Vital Signs this week, an ‘annual community checkup that measures the vitality of the community, identifies significant trends, and assigns grades in 12 areas critical to quality of life.’

According to the 2011 report, Calgarians graded most issues the same or as slightly improved over last year. Safety, arts and culture, learning, and work all received B grades; citizen engagement, health and wellness, financial well being and neighbourhoods B-; getting around took a C; and housing, aging population and environmental sustainability garnered a C+.

Despite these rather average grades, an overwhelming 91% of participants described themselves as happy Continue reading »

According to recent information reported by the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board, the region experienced a decline in home sale transactions during the second quarter of the year.

Overall, 12,149 home sales were recorded during the previous three months, which is 8 percent below the total conducted during the second quarter of 2010.

"Sales in the Montréal area in the second quarter of 2011 were down for a fifth consecutive quarter," said Diane Ménard, vice president of the GMREB Board of Directors and spokesperson for the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards. "With this slowdown in sales, market conditions were close to balanced, although sellers still had the upper hand." Continue reading »

Expanding its presence in Quebec, Partners Real Estate Investment Trust recently announced it would acquire a 250,000 square foot shopping center in the Greater Montreal region.

The center is located in a growing urban market and includes several high-quality retailers, such as a Super C grocery store, Pharmaprix, Zellers, Dollarama, National Bank and Bank of Montreal. In all, the center is 98 percent occupied. Continue reading »

New national data garnered by Statistics Canada has revealed that poverty rates in the major urban areas of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are well above national averages. The agency used income reports taken from 2009 to acquire its prospective.

More positively, data also seems to indicate that mid-sized cities are improving their poverty statistics despite the recession. Both Quebec City and Victoria have shown a decline in low income residents over the last ten years.

Overall, however, the national rate for low income earners rose in 2009, for the second year in a row, up from 9.2 to 9.6 per cent. This means that roughly 3.2 million Canadians, over 630,000 of those being children, live in poverty. Continue reading »

A recent TD Canada Trust survey discovered a trend among Montreal natives, as many are now moving into condos downtown.

Of the Canadians surveyed who are interested in, or have already purchased a condo, Montrealers showed the most interest in the properties nationwide. The poll revealed that cost is playing a major role, as 42 percent of Montreal residents cited affordability as their primary reason for their interest. This fact is especially true with respondents under age 35, as 62 percent of this division cited the cost-effectiveness of a condo, compared with 46 percent of those older than 35.

“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,” said Christine Marchildon, senior vice president of the Quebec Region for TD Canada Trust.

Continue reading »

A report from the Conference Board of Canada finds that economic growth in the coming years may be strongest in cities in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The firm predicts economic growth in Saskatoon and Regina to top 3 percent this year, with strong gains in population boosting demand for Canadian home loans in the area. Similar results are expected to be seen in Calgary and Alberta, where strong growth in the energy sector will fuel the local economies.

“Buoyed by the resources and energy sectors, the economies of Saskatoon, Calgary, Regina and Edmonton will post noticeably stronger growth than the other cities covered in this report,” said Mario Lefebvre, director of the Centre for Municipal Studies.

Continue reading »