Montreal Property Market Continues to Heat Up

The Montreal property market continues to heat up and is now seen as the hottest real estate market in Canada.

The numbers of Montreal property sold in December 2018 hit a new record high as the city is finally catching up with other Canadian cities such as Toronto and Vancouver.

Real estate broker Marc Lefrancois said: ‘It’s not surprising and first of all Montreal was lagging a lot. We know Vancouver, Toronto went through the roof the last six, seven, 10 years.

According to Sotheby’s International Realty, the price of luxury residential Montreal property is on the rise in the city.

In a report, the property agency said that almost 900 condos and homes sold for more than a million dollars in 2018, marking an increase of 150 from the year before.

Political and economic stability in Quebec is partly attributed for the hot Montreal property market, as there are many overseas property investors who consider Canada a safe haven for their money.

The other main reason is that Montreal does not have a foreign buyer tax. The 15 per cent foreign buyer tax introduced in both Toronto and Vancouver resulted in property prices falling in the two cities as overseas property investors stayed away.

As Lisa Kaufman of Sotherby’s said: ‘It’s had a significant impact in the marketplace in Vancouver and somewhat in Toronto. It has impacted us as well in a beneficial manner.’

Montreal has decided to not follow the route taken by both Toronto and Vancouver to further tax foreign buyers, resulting in overseas property investors turning their attention to the Montreal property market instead.

The Montreal property market is expected by most experts to remain hot through 2019, and prospective property buyers are advised to get in sooner rather than later as the price rise continues.