05 May COVID 19 And Montreal Real Estate

COVID 19 And Montreal Real Estate

COVID 19 And Montreal Real Estate finds us in a state of flux and change. Just as Premier Legault sent us into full lockdown mode, the Montreal housing market was booming and in full swing. Open houses were packed with lineups at certain properties. Most of the sales went from five thousand to several hundred thousand over asking. Pre-Covid, inventories were low, demand was high, and prices were on a continual rise. The reality is that although prices continued to increase, Montreal’s prices still remained substantially lower than there counterparts in the Toronto and Vancouver markets.

Mid May, some buyers found themselves caught in the worst timing of things as businesses closed and people found themselves either jobless or suddenly facing an uncertain future. Not the easiest of times to find yourself in the middle of a home purchase!

Let’s face it, with so many deaths here and around the world, it’s a horrible and  frightening time. My heart goes out to all those who have lost a loved one. Our parents or elders continue to remain the most vulnerable of our society. Being unable to say goodbye in a time of suffering and/or loss is unthinkable and there are truly no words…..

To all those on the front lines of this pandemic, the postman, pharmacy and grocery clerks, doctors, nurses, truckers, delivery guys and gals, and all the people that show up to work at great risk to themselves…..we are all eternally grateful to you as you are the ones that have kept our society from falling apart.

To be honest, I have no idea where things go from here. All I do know is that this is an enormous reset button for the world. I don’t mean this in a pessimic way, just that change is inevitable and this too shall pass. In the mean time, it’s an opportunity for us all to reflect on a deeper level about our lives, work, relationships, contribution, and the earth. One of the bright spots in all of this, no pun intended, is the what the sky, air, and planet look like from all the reduced pollution. If only we could figure out how to return to our lives in a way that allows us to sustain these greatly reduced pollution levels.

Meanwhile with all this disruption, it’s a wakeup call to how dependant North Ameica has become on other countries for vital products and supplies that are critical to safety and security. Not that long ago, Quebec and New York enjoyed a booming and healthy needle trade. As manufacturing was exported to other countries, much of this once great industry has disappeared. Not all is lost though as technologies like 3d printing and other maker abilities present us with uprecedented opportunity to start producing things again. I really like this article by Marc Andreesen, “It’s a time to build”: https://a16z.com/2020/04/18/its-time-to-build/

IT’S TIME TO BUILD

Every Western institution was unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, despite many prior warnings. This monumental failure of institutional effectiveness will reverberate for the rest of the decade, but it’s not too early to ask why, and what we need to do about it… Our nation and our civilization were built on production, on building.

A former client of mine recently wrote an interesting blog post. His perspective is appreciated as he had the unique perspective of experiencing the pandemic in both Montreal and China. He was initially in China when the pandemic first exploded and then came to Montreal only to witness our province then fall prey to the virus.

https://www.hatchmfg.com/corona-you-me-us-whats-happened-and-where-it-is-going/

Corona, You, Me, Us. What’s Happened and Where it’s Going – Hatch | Smart Manufacturing for Android Tablets, Phones and Devices

The first contact a potential client sends provides a strong indication of whether the client and Hatch would be a good match for each other. In this article you will learn how to write an effective inquiry for your custom Android manufacturing project.

Mark Cuban has something to say about how retailers can pivot in a post Covid world,

How Retail Stores Can Pivot to Survive

Retailers will need to change a variety of policies to adapt to the new environment after the Covid-19 crisis.

Now for some Montreal housing market news:

Where do we go from here?

From what I see and hear so far, the fundamentals that made our market strong are still very much in place. As long as inventories remain low and demand high, prices and competition will continue to remain healthy. While the market remains fearful, there are those that see the pause as an opportunity to purchase property without the bidding wars.  Here’s a broad array of recent articles presenting several outlooks on the market.

Home Prices In Canada Immune To COVID-19: Economists

MONTREAL ― The COVID-19 economic crisis has shuttered our cinemas and airlines, thrown restaurants and bars into disarray and is currently busy running up a heck of a government deficit. But apparently it can’t derail Canada’s housing markets, many of which can expect to see rapid house price growth once the outbreak passes, several recent forecasts have predicted.

Will COVID-19 burst Canada’s real estate bubble? Odds are low, for now, says RE/MAX

Is the Canadian real estate market headed for a crash because of COVID-19? That was the question posed by real estate company RE/MAX Canada in a media release last week. According to RE/MAX, the novel coronavirus’ impact on the global economy has “only been moderate” so far, although the stock market has nosedived.

‘Don’t underestimate how fast things may come back:’ Housing sector seen rebounding by year’s end

Technology, Technology, technology will be new catchphrase of real estate’s recovery, says Peter Norman, vice president and chief economist at Altus Group

Post-COVID-19 monetary policy must focus on the borrower – Poloz

The recovery of Canada’s economy and housing market will heavily depend on measures that provide monetary stimulus directly to consumers, according to Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz. Once the coronavirus pandemic has passed, such stimulus actions need to “reach the ultimate borrower,” Poloz said in his recent remarks to the Ivey Business School in London, Ontario.