Best Deals in Real Estate 2016: Montreal

Montreal’s top neighbourhoods

By Romana King and Mark Brown on March 9, 2016
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Here are the neighbourhoods with the right mix of price appreciation, value and amenities

(Daniela Duncan / Getty Images) Best Deals in Real Estate 2016 Montreal — (Daniela Duncan / Getty Images)

Montreal’s real estate market is a lot like a visit to Schwartz’s, the city’s iconic-cum-tourist deli: It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but you’re a convert by the time you pay the bill. There is a lot of buzz about real estate prices in Canada, but Montreal isn’t even part of the conversation. To outsiders there simply doesn’t appear to be anything about the activity in this market to leave a lasting impression. That may not be such a bad thing.

Homes here are about as affordable as what you’d expect to find in much smaller cities, yet they’ve delivered steady and sustainable returns to sellers over the years. Last year that return was a little more than 6%, which places it 9th among the 35 cities we track.

But there are a few things weighing this market down. Unemployment at 8.4% is on the high side, while household incomes here are about $75,000, on par with what a typical family would earn in Charlottetown. Still, it’s a big city and you don’t have to look hard to find a neighbourhood with the right mix of price appreciation, value and amenities to excite buyers—and sellers.

Several realtors we spoke with told us that 2016 is already shaping up to be a strong year for sales. “It’s really positive this year,” says Andrew Mitchell of Vistacore Realty Group. “You have a lot more buyers in the market, but less sellers.”

Photo gallery: Top 25 Montreal neighbourhoods »

Montreal at a glance…

	CITY	TOP 25
Average Neighbourhood Price	$375,522	$411,913
Min	$191,949	$202,758
Max	$1,554,861	$1,160,946
Below $500K	87%	80%
Average 1-Year Return	2%	5%
Average 5-Year Return	14%	20%
Average Realtor Grade (Out Of 5)	★★★	★★★½

Top 5 neighbourhoods

Realtors’ bet

Vaudreuil-Dorion Secteur Est, Vaudreuil-Dorion

It’s where all of the highways from the west converge. Historically, that’s meant a lot of industrial action. Today, this neighbourhood attracts younger families looking for newer, larger homes, says Vistacore’s Andrew Mitchell. As the centre of Vaudreuil, this is where many stores, commercial developments and big-box outlets are concentrated.

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