House Prices

[MTLskyline]

We are quite fortunate to have such cheap housing here in Montreal. The likes of Winnipeg and Moncton are more expensive than us. Why is that?

 

Beverly Hills to PEI: a $2-million move

 

ROMA LUCIW

 

Globe and Mail Update

 

September 26, 2007 at 11:58 AM EDT

 

The glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills, Calif., seems worlds away from the tranquil seaside scene in Charlottetown, PEI. But, for prospective home buyers, the difference works out to $2-million (U.S.).

 

A comparison of home prices across 331 North American markets by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, released Wednesday, found that Beverly Hills was the most expensive place on the continent in 2007 to buy a middle-of-the-road house, with an average price tag of $2.21-million.

 

On the other end of the spectrum, Charlottetown was the most affordable of all of the Canadian markets studied. A comparable house in PEI's capital city — the study looked at homes with an average 2,200 square feet, four bedrooms, and two-and-a-half baths — came in at just $157,630.

 

The Coldwell Banker home price comparison found that Canada mirrors the U.S. in that the costliest real estate markets are located on the West Coast. Vancouver topped the list of Canadian markets studied, with homes averaging $1.32-million, a difference of $1.17-million when compared to Charlottetown.

 

California featured prominently on the list of top ten most expensive places to buy a house in North America, grabbing eight spots. Greenwich, Conn., was the second-priciest while Boston edged out Vancouver for the No. 10 spot. Vancouver was, however, the only Canadian market to exceed the $1-million average price tag.

 

(Manhattan, a fantastically expensive place to live, was excluded from the study because of the lack of comparable single-family homes.)

 

In terms of the cheapest real estate on the continent, Killeen, Tex., took the prize at a mere $136,725. Charlottetown was elbowed out of the tenth spot by Wichita, Kan., where houses sold for $156,500.

 

“Canadian prices continue to run the gamut from highly affordable on the East Coast to rapidly escalating home values in B.C. and Alberta,” said Gary Hockey, president of Canadian operations for Coldwell Banker Real Estate.

 

Home prices varied greatly across Canada. In Edmonton the average was $566,750, in Calgary $513,250 and in Winnipeg $344,868. People in Toronto paid $862,674 for a comparable house, while in Montreal it was $252,350 and in Whitehorse $326,250. Shoppers looking for a deal should check out the East Coast: houses in St. John's were $209,000 and in Moncton $255,925.

 

Although the U.S. housing market is mired in a deep slump, housing sales in Canada are still on track to reach a record this year. Real estate experts however are predicting that sales will finally slow from their record-breaking pace in 2008.

 

The loonie, which last week hit parity with the U.S. greenback for the first time in more than 30 years, “has made Canadian real estate a less affordable alternative for U.S. buyers in 2007,” Mr. Hockey said. The fall of the greenback means Americans might not be house shopping in Canada, but the recent strength of the Euro means Canadian homes are more attractive to other global buyers.

 

“When compared against the prices reported in many international markets, our Canadian prices look like a bargain,” Mr. Hockey said.

 

Coldwell also looked at the price of an average home in 394 markets across the world.

 

If found that Dublin is the most expensive market it studied outside of North America, with an average price tag of $2.1-million. Milan came in at $1.9-million, Rome at $1.7-million and Paris at $1.7-million.

 

On the bargain end of the international spectrum, a home in Bogota, Colombia, was just $140,100, Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh came in at $144,896 and Granada, Nicaragua, was $158,375."

 

Source: The Globe and Mail

http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070926.whousingprices0926/BNStory/robNews/home

[jesseps]

Montreal is a bargain for real estate. It has been like that for many years.

[Habsfan]

Home prices varied greatly across Canada. In Edmonton the average was $566,750, in Calgary $513,250 and in Winnipeg $344,868. People in Toronto paid $862,674 for a comparable house, while in Montreal it was $252,350 and in Whitehorse $326,250. Shoppers looking for a deal should check out the East Coast: houses in St. John's were $209,000 and in Moncton $255,925.

 

These numbers are all wrong.

 

I don't know where they got their numbers, but i don'T believe them.

 

Statcan says that the average price of a home(3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a 2 car garge) in Vancouver is about 450,000$, Next comes Toronto with an average price of 370,000$, then you've got Calgary at about 280,000$, Ottawa at 250,000$, Edmonton 240,000$, MOntreal 230,000$ etc.etc.etc.

[mtlurb]

I think for housing, a median should be used and not an average. It would be a better indication of the market.

[jesseps]

One thing I recall, that Coldwell did something similar a couple years back for the condo market. Which had a list of the prices.

 

One thing on their site, they have an interesting calculator. You input the cost of your home, put the region you are closest too. After you put in 3 other markets in Canada. You get the price difference.

[jesseps]

I got bored so I started checking some stuff on MLS.

 

Homes for resale above $1 mil CDN

 

Vancouver - 500+

Toronto - 433

Calgary - 336

Montreal - 233

Edmonton - 62

 

Homes for resale above $5 mil CDN

 

B.C - 124

ONTARIO - 43

ALBERTA -16

QC - 11

 

Homes for resale above $10 mil CDN

 

B.C - 25

ONTARIO - 5

ALBERTA - 2

Q.C - 2

 

Condos for resale above $1 mil CDN

 

Vancouver - 367

Toronto - 118

Montreal - 57

Calgary - 24

Edmonton - 0

 

Condos for resale above $5 mil CDN

 

Vancouver - 13

Toronto - 4

Calgary - 0

Edmonton - 0

Montreal - 0