Montreal real estate: Where to buy in the city's core 2018

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Who doesn’t want to live on Île de Montréal? But with the core’s average home price sitting just under $671,500, the prospect of downtown living may feel a little impossible for many. Until you see our list. The top five neighbourhoods in our core ranking all boast average house prices under $600,000 and many come complete with funky shops and great community atmosphere.

1. Rosemont / La Petite-Patrie (Rosemont)

The No. 1 spot on this list is a community that offers a central location plus lots of fun, hip and funky stores and restaurants. Average home prices in Rosemont / La Petite-Patrie are just above $585,000 — almost 13% cheaper than the core’s average home price. We’re not surprised. Last year, Rosemont / La Petite-Patrie took the No. 17 spot in our Where to Buy Now 2017 ranking. The big reason for its climb, this year, is the price growth in the last year. Property values increased, on average, by 20% in this community. In the last five years property values grew by 43%.

This neighbourhood is still considered one of Montreal’s hottest neighbourhoods, which is why its momentum has been so strong for the last half-decade and recent developments will only cement this ‘hood’s status. New condos and multi-family complexes in the area will just make the single-family homes in this community all the more desirable and this help the homes retain and gain in value.

2. Pointe-Claire

This isn’t the first time Pointe-Claire made it into our top tier rankings. Last year it took the No. 1 spot and this year it’s No. 2 in the core list primarily because it offers exceptional value.

PHOTOS: Top 10 Montreal neighbourhoods to buy in

As a community in the close western suburbs of Montreal, Pointe-Claire offers buyers a bit more. Sure, homes in Point are twice as much as homes on the surrounding north and south suburban communities, but being on the island means not having to deal with bridge and tunnel traffic (which can get pretty jammed up if there is an accident or bad weather). Plus, by moving a little further away from the central core means buyers get a bit more outdoor space and a larger home.

Two years ago, the village centre on Cartier Avenue was approved for a revitalization project. This will help update facilities in this core area of the community, while maintaining the historical charm of this three-century old village. Once this work is complete, it should give a bit of an economic boost to the area which is good news for the home values in this community.

3. Le Sud-Ouest

If you like being close to everything without the inconvenience of being right downtown (think traffic, noise and concrete) than you’ll love our No. 3 neighbourhood, Le Sud-Ouest.

For many years, this community has been a not-so-hidden gem for renters, who can live close to downtown but without paying the exorbitant downtown rents. Over the last few years, this value trickled into the home-buying mentality and the area is now popular for buyers looking to be central but at a price that’s easier on the pocket.

The average home price in Le Sud-Ouest is just under $525,500 — more than 11% less than the average cost of a home on the Île de Montréal. Better still, homes appreciated by only 9% last year, with three-year and five-year property values increasing by 23% and 29%, respectively. For many, this neighbourhood still has quite a bit of room to grow.

Top 25 neighbourhoods

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Rank	Neighbourhood	Area	Average home price (2017)	Value	Momentum	Realtor Grade	Average price vs. area	Avg. price vs. metro district	Avg. price vs. outer region	1-year price change	3-year price change	5-year price change
1	Rosemont/La Petite-Patrie	Montréal Island	$585,431	56.06	94.55	★★★½	100.00%	98.97%	87.18%	19.96%	24.00%	43.33%
2	Pointe-Claire	Montréal Island	$479,476	75.76	90.13	★★½	82.77%	81.05%	71.41%	14.60%	30.66%	31.57%
3	Le Sud-Ouest	Montréal Island	$525,435	65.15	76.30	★★★	99.49%	88.82%	78.25%	8.69%	22.68%	28.71%
4	Lachine	Montréal Island	$442,126	74.24	77.75	★★½	99.55%	74.74%	65.84%	15.38%	20.86%	26.22%
5	Villeray/Saint-Michel/Parc-Extension	Montréal Island	$390,595	75.76	50.95	★★★	100.00%	66.03%	58.17%	7.33%	7.51%	19.88%
6	Le Plateau-Mont-Royal	Montréal Island	$838,636	43.94	73.37	★★★	100.00%	141.77%	124.89%	15.34%	25.36%	19.59%
7	Dorval	Montréal Island	$464,440	81.82	60.37	★★	80.18%	78.51%	69.17%	26.10%	21.80%	14.62%
8	Verdun	Montréal Island	$536,734	40.91	89.35	★★½	101.63%	90.73%	79.93%	12.07%	30.25%	35.74%
9	Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Montréal Island	$565,560	57.58	55.80	★★★	100.00%	95.61%	84.23%	5.06%	21.24%	19.68%
10	Mont-Royal	Montréal Island	$1,281,453	46.97	63.45	★★★	87.95%	216.63%	190.84%	5.16%	22.74%	22.84%
11	Mercier/Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Montréal Island	$359,739	78.79	28.24	★★★	100.00%	60.81%	53.57%	4.73%	10.44%	14.10%
12	Montréal-Ouest	Montréal Island	$706,981	54.55	65.08	★★½	96.12%	119.51%	105.29%	14.05%	29.24%	16.03%
13	Beaconsfield	Montréal Island	$704,917	24.24	92.33	★★½	121.69%	119.16%	104.98%	16.25%	29.24%	32.33%
14	Saint-Laurent	Montréal Island	$606,828	54.55	54.10	★★½	100.00%	102.58%	90.37%	11.71%	11.95%	18.40%
15	Anjou	Montréal Island	$396,957	80.30	20.62	★★★	94.39%	67.10%	59.12%	6.20%	6.93%	4.66%
16	Kirkland	Montréal Island	$607,191	22.73	88.64	★★	132.95%	102.64%	90.43%	14.94%	34.45%	27.51%
17	Pierrefonds-Roxboro	Montréal Island	$376,115	90.91	20.55	★★	82.35%	63.58%	56.01%	4.91%	6.44%	10.05%
18	Côte-Saint-Luc	Montréal Island	$622,295	60.61	51.18	★★	89.47%	105.20%	92.67%	8.28%	14.30%	17.76%
19	Dollard-Des Ormeaux	Montréal Island	$488,793	40.91	64.84	★★½	107.02%	82.63%	72.79%	9.72%	17.41%	20.92%
20	LaSalle	Montréal Island	$447,021	56.06	45.10	★★½	100.65%	75.57%	66.57%	3.95%	14.26%	19.21%
21	Montréal-Nord	Montréal Island	$299,472	81.82	18.25	★★	100.00%	50.62%	44.60%	4.09%	5.11%	10.52%
22	Hampstead	Montréal Island	$1,170,190	53.03	44.53	★★½	80.32%	197.82%	174.27%	5.93%	23.11%	11.26%
23	Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Montréal Island	$744,729	30.30	57.20	★★½	101.25%	125.89%	110.91%	13.92%	13.37%	18.11%
24	Île-des-Soeurs	Montréal Island	$961,576	40.91	47.75	★★½	100.00%	162.55%	143.20%	5.38%	2.83%	25.74%
25	Rivière-des-Prairies/Pointe-aux-Trembles	Montréal Island	$312,335	65.15	18.32	★★½	100.71%	52.80%	46.51%	4.83%	6.89%	8.47%

Value: Measures how affordable the neighbourhood is compared to the surrounding area and the region overall
Momentum: Measures how quickly prices are appreciating in this neighbourhood, with an emphasis on long term appreciation
Realtor Grade: How realtors we surveyed rate this neighbourhood

For more, please see our complete methodology

These are our picks for the best neighbourhoods to buy real estate in Montreal’s core, but if you’d rather live farther from the hustle and bustle of downtown, we have more suggestions. We ranked the best neighbourhoods in three regions — core, inner suburbs and outer. The core is the city’s urban centre, with accessible transit and easy access to amenities. The inner suburbs are for people who don’t mind trading a longer commute for better parking and a bigger lot size. And the outer region is for buyers who either don’t need to commute downtown at all, or are willing to log some serious travel time in exchange for affordable prices and wide open spaces. Check out the map below to see how the regions break down.