Housing in a number of cities across Canada has been put through the wringer over the past year or so, creating a difficult time for local buyers and a great time for people looking to sell.
With Vancouver's prices rising they implemented measures to cool it down, leading real estate investors to move east, to Toronto. Toronto then followed in Vancouver's footsteps, implementing their own measures. Now that Toronto is beginning to cool down, Montreal is next in line.
Montreal had an average price of $319,000 in May for a single-family home. Significantly discounted when you compare Toronto's $1.1-million average last month, and Vancouver's $1.56-million price tag.
In May, Montreal saw a 15 per cent increase in sales compared to the previous year, according to stats released by the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board.
Considering the investment in Toronto and Vancouver, being all foreign investment, it looks as if that foreign investment has moved to Montreal after Vancouver and Toronto focused on limiting foreign investment within their cities. After Vancouver's tax introduction, Montreal saw "a bit more" Asian investors. It's still unclear if Toronto's tax has had an impact on the Montreal increase.
However, this is not the first time Montreal has seen foreign investment. They have been attracting wealthy buyers from France for some time.
In the meantime, until more time passes, the increase in migrant numbers from Europe and strong job growth can most likely be seen as the reason for the growing house market.
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