I would like to make a graph of the average price that private houses
(be it houses or condos) were sold (or resold) in the Montreal
(Canada) area for the last 30 years or so (longer is even better). (My
goal is to see if there are cycles and if this is a good time to buy).

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 06 Jun 2003 15:46 PDT

Hello louisthomas-ga,

I have a database where you may view the average prices of homes by
area and year,  from 1974  to the present.

They offer the following housing types to choose from:

Detached Bungalow
Executive Detached Two-storey
Standard Two-Storey
Standard Townhouse
Senior Executive
Standard Condominium Apartment
Luxury Condominium Apartment

They offer many locations throughout Canada to choose from. When
choosing the  Montreal Area they give you the prices of homes in  six
different areas of the city.

Beloeil
Chateauguay
Duvernay, Laval
Mount Royal
Pierrefonds
Pointe Claire

You may choose any time period from 1974 to the present. They divide
the years in quarters as well.

Description:

Housing Types
Seven categories of housing are surveyed, including four types of
detached homes, townhouses and condominium high-rise apartments. Each
housing type and its amenities are specifically described, permitting
comparison of value across Canada. This includes many regional
variances, for which adjustments in value estimates have been applied.

Property Location
Location has a major influence on real estate values. These Survey
properties are considered to be within average commuting distance to
the city centre and are typical of other housing in the neighbourhood.
While the detached bungalow, standard two-storey, standard townhouse
and standard condominium apartment are assumed to be in average
neighbourhoods, the executive detached two-storey, senior executive
and luxury condominium apartment are considered to be in prime
neighbourhoods.

I can give you the source of this database and instructions on how to
retrieve the results. Would this be an acceptable answer to your
question?

Thanks
--Bobbie7-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 06 Jun 2003 19:02 PDT

I was looking through the database and realized that other Montreal
areas are included for some years.

Beaconsfield
Boucherville
Brossard
Chomedey, Laval
Cote St. Luc
Dollard-Des-Ormeaux
Hudson
Longueuil
Mount Royal

Thanks
--Bobbie70

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 06 Jun 2003 22:01 PDT

Sorry, that should say Bobbie7

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Clarification of Question by louisthomas-ga on 07 Jun 2003 20:06 PDT

Hi Bobbie! 

Thank you for answering so quickly. 

If this data is the price that people paid when they bought their
home, be it used or new (not just new homes), then we are in business!
Or if you think this distinction is irrelevant, let me know.

Now we need to decide how to aggregate the data… 

All the areas that you mentioned are suburbs just outside the actual
city of Montreal. Montreal itself has several neighborhoods, the one
that interests me most is “Plateau Mont-Royal” (which is different
from the suburb of Mount Royal). It is probably not on your list. But
that doesn’t matter.

All I really want is a sense of where the market at large is going. So
we might as well aggregate all the data for Montreal and its suburbs.
Same thing for the different categories of housing. And I only need
annual  figures.

Do you think that if we put all those numbers together we can still
see something of does it not make sense?

I am also not clear on the next step (I am a first time user). Will
you send me the database, let me know where it is or extract the data
for me?

Thank you again for your help.

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 07 Jun 2003 20:38 PDT

Hi Luis Thomas,


Yes, the prices are what the people paid when they bought their homes.

I’m confident that the data in this database will give you a sense of
the market.

The company that did this survey of Canadian House Prices is a
recognized industry leader in identifying and analyzing Canadian real
estate trends. This survey is the largest, most comprehensive study of
its kind in Canada, with information on seven housing types in more
than 250 neighborhoods from coast to coast.

Given that it would take will take a considerable amount of time to
cover the work required for the extraction of the data for the price
of your question,
I suggest that the next step should be for me to post my answer. 

My answer would be the URL of the database and instructions on how to
use it. You will be able to extract the relevant data depending on the
type of house and location.

If you agree with this, please let me know in order to proceed and
post my answer.

Thanks
Bobbie

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Clarification of Question by louisthomas-ga on 08 Jun 2003 13:14 PDT

I guess the access to that database is free? If so, we can proceed and
close my question.

Thank you again

Hello Luis Thomas,

Thank you for your question.


Royal LePage is the company that did this survey of Canadian House
Prices is the recognized industry leader in identifying and analyzing
Canadian real estate trends. This survey is the largest, most
comprehensive study of its kind in Canada, with information on seven
housing types in more than 250 neighborhoods from coast to coast. This
is an indispensable tool to the real estate industry, and an
invaluable resource to government agencies, the corporate world, and
the media.


The Royal LePage Survey of Canadian House Prices explained:

“Fair Market Value
Housing values in the Royal LePage Neighbourhood Pricing Trend
Calculator are Royal LePage opinions of fair market value in each
location, based on local data and market knowledge provided by Royal
LePage residential real estate experts.

Housing Types
Seven categories of housing are surveyed, including four types of
detached homes, townhouses and condominium high-rise apartments. Each
housing type and its amenities are specifically described, permitting
comparison of value across Canada. This includes many regional
variances, for which adjustments in value estimates have been applied.

Property Location
Location has a major influence on real estate values. These Survey
properties are considered to be within average commuting distance to
the city centre and are typical of other housing in the neighbourhood.
 While the detached bungalow, standard two-storey, standard townhouse
and standard condominium apartment are assumed to be in average
neighbourhoods, the executive detached two-storey, senior executive
and luxury condominium apartment are considered to be in prime
neighbourhoods.”



Here is the Royal LePage Survey of Canadian House Prices Database
http://www.royallepage.ca/schp/query.asp


Instructions:

- Choose Quebec Montreal Area where it says “Province and Area”

- Choose one of the following where it says “Property Type”

Detached Bungalow
Executive Detached Two-storey
Standard Two-Storey
Standard Townhouse
Senior Executive
Standard Condominium Apartment
Luxury Condominium Apartment

- Choose date and year where it says “Period”

- Press “Request Data”

Survey Database
http://www.royallepage.ca/schp/query.asp



I located a number of articles and a report addressing the Montreal
real estate market that may be of your interest:


“Montreal experienced a severe shortage of housing inventory in most
areas of the city during first quarter 2003. Sales activity was
sporadic and declined, year-over-year due partly to stock market
volatility and the uncertainty of world events. Demand outpaced supply
however, and pressured average prices higher year-over-year.”
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/April2003/01/c6098.html


Housing market in Montreal
27 February 2002 
http://www.ired.com/news/mkt/can-monthousing.htm



Rising Population to Power Canadian Home Prices in Coming Decade
By Jim Adair

Published: December 20, 2001

“Montreal prices are also expected to rise five to 10 per cent during
the next 10 years. The Re/Max Clayton report notes that move-up buying
by late baby boomers, and a strong first-time buyers market will keep
things moving. In Montreal, adult children tend to live at home longer
than in the average Canadian city, possibly because of the tightening
of the rental vacancy rates in that city, says the report. This will
slightly mitigate the demand for smaller homes.”
http://realtytimes.com/rtnews/rtcpages/20011220_capopulation.htm



Housing Markets in Canada's Largest Cities - Prospects for the Next
Ten Years
You may read the complete 27 page report here:
http://www.remax.ca/HousingOutlookReport.pdf



Search Criteria:

Housing market in Montreal
Housing survey
Historical prices of Montreal homes
Average house prices by year
Montreal housing trends


I trust the information from this database will help you get a better
idea of the evolution of the housing market in Montreal. If a link
fails to work or if anything is not clear please let me know prior to
rating the answer.


Best wishes,
Bobbie7

This is the same question I as going to ask. 
But this answer does not go deep enough.. The article are great, thanks.. 

But is there a cycle of "buying market" to a seller's market. 
Right now, with the low interet rate, it's a Seller's market.. the
buyer that we are does not have any advantage right now. We buy at the
asked price or we don't !