Montreal leads increase in luxury home prices

October 9, 2020

A double-digit increase in prices means Montreal is now leading both Toronto and Vancouver in price appreciation in the luxury-home sector, according to a national survey by Royal LePage. Royal LePage defines a luxury house as one that is priced at least three times higher than the median house price in a given community.

The survey, released October 1, shows the median price of a luxury house in the City of Montreal rose 15.9 per cent year-over-year to $1.97 million.
In comparison, the median price of a luxury house in the City of Toronto has risen 5.4 per cent year-over-year to $3.1 million. In Vancouver, the median price of a luxury house increased 3.9 per cent to $4.0 million in the same period, the survey stated.
 According to Marie-Yvonne Paint, a Montreal real estate broker specializing in luxury listings with Royal LePage Heritage, demand for larger properties and land in the region fueled luxury home prices since the resumption of sales activity in mid-May 2020. Listings between $1.5 and $3 million now sell quickly, she said.
“There is concern for job loss and our economy but this typically has limited impact on buyers purchasing luxury properties. A more important factor is continued low interest rates, which have the ability to fuel the market,” said Paint.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the median price of a luxury house in the Greater Montreal Area rose 4.6 per cent year-over-year to $1.9 million while the median price of a luxury condominium decreased 2.0 per cent year-over-year to $1.3 million.
 According to Suzanne Havard Grisé, real estate broker with Royal LePage Privilège in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville on the South Shore of Montreal, areas such as Brossard, Longueuil, Boucherville, Candiac, Carignan and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville have seen multiple offers scenarios for most of the spring and summer season.
“By May, the pace of activity quickly picked up without any signs of slowing down for the detached luxury segment,” Grisé said.
“The quest for space has been supercharged by the pandemic, and no property class has benefited more than the large, detached home,” stated Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage. “Demand far exceeds the supply of detached houses in Canada.”