Log in & Sign up
You are not logged in.
Most Commented
Sellers in off-island towns such as St. Lazare could see interest wane as gas prices rise. (ALLEN McINNIS/Gazette)
Gas price angst moves into housing market
Off-island residents express concern about cost of commute
Brett Bundale
The Gazette
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Sellers in off-island towns such as St. Lazare could see interest wane as gas prices rise. (ALLEN McINNIS/Gazette)
Single-family homes off the island of Montreal are becoming
harder to sell, in part because of high gas prices, and some
homeowners are throwing in free cars and SUVs to entice potential
buyers.
Montreal real estate agent Laurie MacDonald says most buyers are
looking for homes on the island.
"Off-island houses, like in Hudson or in the swank neighbourhoods
of St. Lazare, are not selling," MacDonald said. "People don't want
to commute all the way to downtown and pay for soaring gas prices."
To sell their houses faster, MacDonald added, some homeowners are
offering buyers the keys to their SUVs to "seal the deal." A
Canadian Real Estate Association survey made public in March found
that "the distance to work is the biggest 'driving' factor in
consumer consideration of buying a home." And the survey, by IPSOS
Reid, was conducted before gas prices spiked in April.
Montrealers might be interested in moving closer to where they work
because of gas prices, but the evidence is anecdotal, said Bob
Linney, communications director of the Canadian Real Estate
Association.
Homeowners willing to commute into town will make up for the price
of gas with the lower real estate taxes, off-island home owner Dan
Loiselle said.
"The taxes here (in St. Lazare) are a fraction of what you'd be
paying in Beaconsfield or Kirkland," Loiselle said.
His 4,000-square-foot home in St. Lazare, complete with an
in-ground pool, has been on the market since 2005. The price has
fallen to $795,000 from $925,000.
"It's the quality of life in St. Lazare that will sell the house,"
said Loiselle, who plans to keep living in the off-island town.
"There are parks, beaches, sand dunes, trails - things you would not
find close to downtown." Loiselle said he knows someone in the
neighbourhood who threw in a BMW 325 to close a deal on his house.
"I'm not giving away a car. If someone can afford an $800,000
house, I don't think a used car will make a big difference. But I
have included a $2,500 gas card on top of the normal commission for
the agent who sells my house," Loiselle said.
Debbie Middleton, the real estate agent for Loiselle's home in the
Chanterel district of St. Lazare, described the area as "an
off-island Westmount." "There was a big hoopla when these houses
were first built" and prices were "ridiculous," Middleton said. "The
new prices just reflect market value, not rising gas prices.
"If we're having trouble selling, it's because less people are
buying homes priced above half a million," Middleton said. "Many new
development projects are building houses (priced) between $350,000
and $400,000. That's the bread-and-butter market of construction
now." David Meyers, a real-estate agent with Remax who is
responsible for several homes in the St. Lazare area, said the cost
of gas will start affecting the housing market only once it reaches
$2 a litre.
"At the moment, I don't see any clear trends," Meyers said. "But
consumer confidence in Canada is at an all-time low" because of the
ripple effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States
and other economic factors.
"But I think it's too soon to tell if high gas prices have hit the
housing market." Experts say gas prices won't ease any time soon:
CIBC World Markets predict gas will hit about $1.86 a litre within
the next two years.
Gas prices might influence not only how far people are willing to
commute to work, but also how far they'll travel on vacation.
A poll made public Thursday by Royal LePage in Toronto found that
one in five cottage owners in Ontario would consider selling their
vacation property if gas prices continue to rise.