One Good Earth Blog

Montreal Holidays 2016 Staycation

Featured headline photo by Jeremy Thomas

Montreal Holidays 2016 Staycation

If you’ll be here in Montreal over the 2016 holidays, don’t fret as there are tons of things to do for under $50, according to Montreal Blog’s article “16 Montreal Things You Absolutely Must Treat Yourself To For Under $50 this winter” From spas, to Igloofest, skating and good eats, there’s lots of choice and fun for everyone!

Some other Montreal spots you might also want check out during your staycation are:

Next Door Pub & Grill –  https://www.mtlblog.com/photos/a-night-out-in-ndg-at-the-next-door-pub/

Kampai gardens by Antonio Park – https://tastet.ca/2016/11/24/kampai-garden-montreal-shaughnessy/

Fitzroy –  cool vibe, billiard tables and dancing – https://www.montreal.tv/2014/10/fitzroy-remplace-le-boul-noir-sur-mont-royal/

Imadake – for their sake bombs and food – https://www.allermanger.com/2015/04/02/montreal-imadake-izakaya/   https://www.montrealfooddivas.com/imadake-izakaya-montreal/

Mount Royal – spectacular views, cross country skiing, snowshoe and skating –  https://www.lemontroyal.qc.ca/en

These Montreal holidays of 2016 , it’s time to have fun because we so deserve it!

Read the article below to see the what made the Mtl Blog to do list

16 Montreal Things You Absolutely Need To Treat Yourselves To For Under $50 This Winter

Since finals are quickly approaching, you and your BFF probably need some down time. And even after finals are over, you and your BFF deserve to treat yourselves to some fun and relaxing activities this winter. I suggest checking out this list for some crazy fun things you can do together for the rest of Winter!

 

 

Ten Emerging Trends In Real Estate 2017

Ten Emerging Trends In Real Estate 2017

Ten emerging trends in real estate 2017, features a great article by Curbed, giving us a picture of the U.S. economic growth and  real estate returns. Despite all the recent political uncertainty with Brexit and the U.S. election results, the United States still seems to be a safe haven for investment. “According to the Urban Land Institute’s annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate Report, which was just released this morning at their annual meeting in Dallas, real estate in the United States shows a more favorable outlook than much of the rest of the world. Of course, this attention carries plenty of risks and challenges.”

Top 10 trends shaping real estate in 2017

For months, the real estate market-and markets in general-have suffered a lack of security. From the Brexit aftermath to the U.S. election, political wildcards as well as structural market shifts have made prognostication and predictions difficult. But there are still fundamental changes at play and, amid the ups-and-downs, the United States has emerged as a safe haven and investment opportunity.

Here’s the report from the Urban Land Institute on “The Emerging Trends In Real Estate for U.S. and Canada”

Header Photo by Bonnie Meisels ©all rights reserved

Urban Farming: The Future of Food & Real Estate

Urban Farming And Emerging Real Estate Trends

The truth is real estate became super interesting for me when I realized that it crossed over into my passion for good, natural food! I always said my heart was through my stomache and it still holds true today. Years ago, at the start of the major push to build endless condos, I had the crazy idea of integrating small urban gardens on rooftops. Well why not I thought, we put pools, gyms and sometimes skylights on roofs. Why couldn’t we have our own herb gardens, how wonderful would it be to go up on your roof and pick some fresh herbs for your dinner plate. Besides, we need a sustainable urban food system to grow alongside our traditional supermarkets and grocers. Lufa farms is unique and beautiful to behold as you see this 31,000 squrare foot greenhouse, or urban farm sitting on top of an industrial building. Since Lufa opened several years ago, there have been many new models of urban farms that require less space and set up, that are much less capital intensive. Everything from container farming to large scale vertical farming. Either way, vertical farming is an important part of our food systems of the future.

What will that mean for real estate? Maybe a new way of thinking about space. I thought I’d share an interesting video from the Urban Land Institute, titled “Food & Real Estate: Cutting Edge Trends”

Food and Real Estate: Cutting-Edge Trends

Filmed October 26 at the 2016 ULI Fall Meeting in Dallas, Texas. A focus on food is providing a rich arena for innovation that can improve outcomes for real estate business and practice, people, and the planet.

            Here’s the report on “Trends and Opportunities at the Intersection of Food and Real Estate” by the Urban Land Institute

For more information visit the Urban Land Institute

 

5 Things Changing Canadian Real Estate

Canadian real estate was once something well understood.  Since the unexpected results of the U.S. election results the Canadian real estate market has followed suit.

  1. Mortgage rates are on the rise, with RBC Bank, being one of the first to implement the rate increase
  2. New mortgage rules  The Canadian government has imposed tighter mortgage rules trying to ensure that Canadians can afford their mortgages.  An overheated Vancouver market was cooled by the new 15% tax imposed on foreign buyers as well as a 1% tax added to properties left vacant for more than six months
  3. Ontario doubles it’s tax rebate offered to first time buyers and Vancouver’s market in response to the new tax gets chilled.
  4. Calgary, once a booming real estate market was hit hard when oil prices reached low levels. The Calgary market is now, more balanced. 
  5. Foreign Investment is coming to Montreal  as compared to Vancouver and Toronto, Montreal remains a relative bargain! 

Read the full article from BNN

Five things upending Canadians’ understanding of housing – BNN Bloomberg

Just six months ago, many Canadians were confident in their understanding of the housing market. Historically-low borrowing costs were showing no signs of moving higher, Calgary continued to suffer under the weight of low oil, and price gains in Vancouver and Toronto looked unstoppable. A lot has changed since then.

 

Canadian housing boom continues, while Vancouver market ‘returning to earth’ – BNN Bloomberg

Canadian home resales and prices rose in October as the nation’s long housing boom continued, two separate reports showed on Tuesday, but analysts said higher borrowing costs have increased the risk of a correction.

Headline Photo by Bonnie Meisels© All rights reserved

 

 

Dollars & Sense – Rising Interest Rates

Photo by Bonnie Meisels ©All rights reserved

Recently rising interest rates came as big suprise here in Canada after much talk and speculation that rates would remain low for quite some time. A recent publication from TD Bank gives us a good snapshot of the current U.S. and global fiscal picture.  Although it’s complicated, at least too complicated for me, this TD Economy report does a nice job of explaining some of the reasoning and underpinnings of the suprising rise in interest rates. Where it goes from here will depend on what unfolds in the new U.S. administration going forward. One thing we know for sure, the markets don’t like nor respond well to uncertainty!

Read the report below or on my market reports page:

The One In Six Rule

The one-in-six rule: can Montreal fight gentrification by banning restaurants?

Interesting article by The Guardian

St Henri is an up and coming, sweet little neighborhood, close to the Atwater Market. The neighborhood has many shops, cafes and restaurants that have put this neighborhood on the map. It’s this wonderful diversity, especially of good eateries that has people flocking to live in this urban hotspot. But, a debate has been brewing to limit the amount of restaurants.

Read more about it here:

The one-in-six rule: can Montreal fight gentrification by banning restaurants?

A controversial law limiting new restaurant openings in Montreal’s Saint-Henri area has pitted business owners against those who believe they are fighting for the very survival of Canada’s ‘culture capital’. Who is right?

Montréal Real Estate Market is on a Roll

Montréal Real Estate Market is on a Roll

According to the market report from the CMHC – Canada’s Mortgage And Housing Corporation

„On the existing home market, demand will be on the rise in 2016, and sales registered through the Centris® system will increase, reaching between 38,500 and 48,500 units.

Existing home market: growth to continue in 2016 The year 2015 was characterized by renewed growth in home sales registered through the Centris® system, after five years of stagnation. This increase in sales should continue in 2016. Already in the first quarter, transactions recorded a strong gain (+10 per cent) over the same period in 2015. In 2016, sales will range between 38,500 and 40,500 units (compared to 37,900 in 2015). This increase in demand will be attributable in part to the recent

Here are the main points for the third quarter of 2016, as compared to the third quarter of last year.

Sales:

  • 5 per cent increase in the number of residential sales, and fifth consecutive quarterly increase in sales;
  • 14 per cent increase in plex transactions (two to five dwellings) and 6 per cent increase for single-family homes; 1 per cent decrease in condominium transactions;
  • By geographic area: sales rose by 9 per cent in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, by 8 per cent in Laval,
    by 7 per cent on the Island of Montréal and by 4 per cent on the North Shore;
    sales fell by 1 per cent on the South Shore.

Prices:

  • Moderate increase in the median price of single-family homes (+2 per cent, $290,000) and plexes
    of two to five dwellings (+1 per cent, $445,000);
  • 5 per cent increase in the median price of condominiums ($245,000), the best performance
    in the last 17 quarters.

Active listings:

  • Upward trend continued for a twentieth consecutive quarter;
  • Increase in the number of properties for sale of only 1 per cent.

“The number of active listings and, by extension, market conditions in general, are in the process of stabilizing,” noted Sylvain Girard, Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB). “Currently, only the condominium property category is showing a slight excess in supply, thereby giving buyers the upper hand. For the two other property categories, single-family homes and plexes, the market is relatively balanced,” he added.  But of course there are significant differences in numbers depending on the neighborhood or municipality in Montreal

Largest October Increases In Montreal Real Estate Market 2016 In Years

Photo by Bonnie Meisels©

Best Montreal Real Estate Market October 2016 – Posts Vigorous Price Increases Via CNW

According to the latest Centris statistics the Montreal real estate market in October 2016 in Greater Montreal has been the best October in seven years!

Sales by geographic area

  • All five main areas of the Montréal CMA contributed to the sales increase in October.
  • Vaudreuil-Soulanges registered the largest increase in sales, as the number of transactions jumped by 45 per cent.
  • The South Shore (+10 per cent), the Island of Montréal (+6 per cent), the North Shore (+6 per cent) and Laval (+6 per cent) also registered an increase in sales compared to October of last year.

Sales by property category

  • Sales of condominiums and plexes rose by 13 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, while sales of single-family homes registered a more modest increase of 5 per cent.

Prices

  • The median price of single-family homes across the Montréal CMA posted a slight increase of 1 per cent compared to October 2015, to reach $302,500.
  • Half of all condominiums sold for more than $245,000, which represents a 2 per cent increase in median price.
  • Finally, after registering a 7 per cent increase last month, the median price of plexes with 2 to 5 dwellings increased by only 1 per cent to reach $460,000.
Centris® Residential Sales Statistics – October 2016 (CNW Group/Greater Montréal Real Estate Board)
Centris® Residential Sales Statistics – October 2016 (CNW Group/Greater Montréal Real Estate Board)

Foreign and Domestic Real Estate Investors Continue to Look to Thriving Regional Markets to Build Their Portfolios

Q3 2016 Key Findings

  • Stock markets rebounded from Brexit to return record performances – impacts were minimal in Canada
  • Canada’s economy contracted slightly over the second quarter, largely due to the Alberta wildfires and slowdown in oil sands activity
  • Domestic and foreign investor confidence continued to provide healthy liquidity in the third quarter, keeping with this year’s trend
  • Multi-suite residential is a popular choice for investors, and is expected to remain as such for the foreseeable future
  • Canada’s office leasing market is fragmented, as centres directly tied to the overall economy, like Toronto and Vancouver, show strong performance
  • Canada’s industrial property sector continues to exhibit broadly healthy leasing market fundamentals, with only Calgary and Edmonton registering weakness

Our Montreal market continues to attract more foreign investment as prices in Toronto & Vancouver have reached insane heights. The value and price point to purchase good investment property is much more attainable here in Montreal as there are plenty of opportunities.

Montreal Real Estate News Is Out!

Photo credit: Bonnie Meisels ©

Montreal Real Estate News Is Out!

Montreal Real Estate News is out! Welcome to my online digital newsletter. Discover what our local real estate market is up to with the latest monthly market news and videos. Besides articles and statistics on our local Montreal Real Estate market, you’ll find a collection of interesting stories from around the globe. I hope you’ll enjoy reading some cool stuff on sports, entertainment, technology, great eats, and of course real estate!

You can also find my newsletter  at https://real-estate-montreal.com. For any suggested articles, email me at buymontrealrealestate@gmail.com. Sign up here, for more indepth montreal real estate market reports on the neighborhood that you’re most interested in and more detailed statistics. .

 


Montreal Real Estate September 2016

Montreal Real Estate September 2016

Highlights Courtesy of GMREB

Montreal Real Estate September 2016:  Sales in the Montréal CMA increased by 4% in September. This was the 18th sales increase in the past 19 months.  The Island of Montréal (+8%), the North Shore (+4%) and the South Shore (+3%) registered sales increases, while Vaudreuil-Soulanges (-5%) and Laval (-7%) posted decreases.  Sales of single-family homes and condominiums grew by 4% and 9%, while plex sales fell by 9% compared to September of last year.  The median price of single-family homes and condominiums rose by 4% and 1% respectively, while that of plexes jumped by 7%.  The number of active listings fell for a 12th consecutive month (-12%).

Click here to download the full report,

For a quick snapshot, watch the video below!

Centris® Residential Sales Statistics – September 2016

Uploaded by CIGM GMREB on 2016-10-05.