19 Sep What’s Driving Our Market & Affordable Real Estate
What’s Driving Our Market & Affordable Real Estate
What’s driving our market & affordable real estate is a blog post addressing two different aspects of our current Montreal housing market.
Here’s a snapshot of the most recent sales data for Montreal in August 2021 via Centris.
If we compare the inventory numbers from August 2020 to August 2021, active listings, inventory was down -26% for single family homes and -14% for condominiums. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand what this data is showing in terms of supply and demand. With lower supply, it will remain a seller’s market translating into higher prices. COVID definitely exacerbated things as people’s needs changed in the requirement for bigger spaces. Over time, I think the city centers, like downtown Montreal and it’s surrounding communities will recover.
Royal Lepage predicts that the current market scenario will cool in 2022. If interest rates rise, that will definitely affect the market outlook.
Canadian housing market to cool down in 2022, Royal LePage forecasts
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Inventory Turnover – Metro Montreal
Expected months to sell the available inventory of houses, townhouses, and condos.
What’s next for Canada’s 30-year housing bull market?
Steve Saretsky, a Vancouver realtor, speaks with Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn about what’s next for Canada’s 30-year housing bull market._________________…
A Few Thoughts on Affordable Housing
As the Canadian election looms over the horizon, all of the parties have discussed their plans to reign in the Canadian housing market. The parties propose to disallow foreign buyers to enter the Canadian housing market for some time. This is akin to fixing your plumbing issues by hiring a roofer to fix the problem. The Montreal housing market is unique unto itself and does not compare, nor has it ever compared to Toronto & Vancouver.
In Montreal, foreign buyers make up a tiny percentage of buyers in the Montreal market and do not compete with those wishing to purchase either their first time home or those upgrading. In fact most foreign buyers view Montreal as a place to invest and possibly live at some point. Between the many Montreal Universities, there is also a large demand from foreign students. Some of whom have parents looking to purchase and invest instead of renting. Foreigh buyers and investment help to support a healthy and vital Montreal economy and much needed investment in the city, particularly the downtown core. There is no shortage of supply of 2 bedroom one bath condos in the downtown area as new projects continue to sprout. Some of these buildings and projects, although beautiful, do not address the basic needs of our population. There is an entire demographic of famillies, or millenials who aspire to have children, that want to purchase a home of at least 3 bedrooms or more. A parking or garage to accommodate their vehicle as not everyone relies on public transport all the time.
CMHC AND STATS CANADA RELEASE FOREIGN BUYER NUMBERS
“Nun’s Island, situated just off Montreal Island, which is known for its lofty homes, has also witnessed a boost in non-resident ownership, who comprised 4.3% of home owners in 2016, and 7.6% this year. Montreal, however, had 0.9% non-resident owners last year, and 1.5% this year.”
It’s easy to politically create a “foreign buyers” scapegoat for this situation, instead of mandating a true solution, and that is to BUILD!!! There is no shortage of defunct land and buildings that remain vacant and / or abandoned which we can clearly see in this COVID reality. Productivity and repurposing would allow Montreal to finally address the housing needs of famillies that are relegated to the suburbs. In fact, buyers increasingly need to travel further out from the city to have affordable options. Families with at least 2 children or more, usually possess a family vehicle and need good access to public transport and school choices. What we need is a commitment and political will to answer the call to build homes and spaces that meets the needs of it’s population. With all the technology and innovations today, we can surely manage to build attractive, energy efficient, and affordable homes.
Another huge mistake is the effort to disuage people from using their cars in parts of the city, especially downtown. There is nothing green or sustainable in the continuos removal of parking spots. This war on cars is nonsensical and completely disconnected from the needs of famillies or business people who must access the downtown core for short spurts of time. Is it sustainable to have to circle for parking for a half hour or more, which increases the strain of valuable resources and emits more co2? The smart technology to fix this already exists and is implemented in other major cities, why not here?!
Can we envision a better future? This will take the collaboration of many, let’s start!
By the way, I recently came across this video and am sharing it here, it specifically addresses the issue with a good sense of humor!
We Know Why Housing Is Expensive
Why chronic housing supply is the real cause of ever increasing housing prices.Help OutSharing on Facebook/Reddit/Forums helps immenselyInsider Content: http…
Want to discuss this further? I’d love to hear from you!
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