04 Dec COVID-19 and Montreal’s Changing Real Estate Trends
COVID-19 and Montreal’s Changing Real Estate Trends
COVID-19 and Montreal’s changing real estate trends contain themes we see playing out across North America. As Montreal is now well into it’s second wave of the pandemic we can clearly see some emerging trends. With most of the population spending more time at home and in some cases becoming the new work from home set up, more Montrealers are prioritizing homeownership and seeking out as much indoor and outdoor space as they can afford to improve their quality of life while working-from-home and social distancing.
According to recent stats from the Royal Lepage Report, “In the core of Montreal, the aggregate price of a home rose 12.2 per cent year-over-year to $610,898. Broken out by housing type, the median price of a standard two-storey home increased 14.6 per cent year-over-year to $825,801, and the price of a bungalow rose 10.6 per cent year-over-year to $557,961. During the same period, the median price of a condominium grew 8.8 per cent year-over-year to $448,496.
A major trend is the surging demand for Single family homes. There are currently no signs of a slowdown in sight as the vast majority of vendors, are receiving offers at or above the asking price, especially in the most in-demand neighbourhoods.”
According to Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage “baby boomers in recent years, as well as older millennials have been migrating to suburban communities and smaller cities, driven by retirement and the needs of growing families. The quest for affordable space has driven the demand for large, detached homes, and demand far exceeds the supply in Canada.”
The condo segment is more balanced as some owners of luxury condominium have been discouraged by the restrictions on access to shared amenities, such as party rooms, pools, and higher density living in general. This trend has driven some to decide to escape elegant downtown tower living for the suburbs or country living.
According to Christian Longpré, co-owner of Royal LePage Au Sommet in Magog, 78 per cent of transactions involved people who want to live there full time, he said “some buyers had planned to move to the country eventually, he said, but were spurred by the pandemic to make the move sooner. Clients include urban condo owners who can get more space — and land — for their money in the country and families who were confined to apartments during the pandemic.”
Royal LePage has forecasted that the average home price in Greater Montreal will increase 9.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same quarter last year.
Royal Lepage House Price Survey
Royal Lepage Market Forcast 4th Quarter 2020 Across Canada
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