Montreal’s most expensive home sale this year is a Ritz condo: MLS data

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The most expensive home sale of the year may not be exactly what you think. It is not an oceanfront property. It has no guest houses, nor is it a sprawling mansion.

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The highest priced sale on the island of Montreal recorded in the MLS database of Quebec real estate brokers so far this year is in fact a condo, albeit a very luxurious one.

Priced at $ 9,750,000, the Golden Square Mile Penthouse at the Ritz Carleton is a two-story, 4,100-square-foot home with double-height ceilings, two garages, and a private landscaped deck with over 1,000 square feet of outdoor space. free. The unit has three bedrooms and four baths.

Real estate broker Joseph Montanaro, who represented both buyer and seller in the recent sale, said the buyer, a long-time client, was a local looking for a pied-à-terre in town.

“The unit is spectacular. It has two floors, so it feels like a little house. Which is good when people are downsizing and are used to having a lot of space, ”he said.

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Like the Four Seasons residences, Montanaro said the condos at the Ritz are particularly appreciated by luxury buyers. Not only do they offer hotel services and amenities like housekeeping, room service, 24-hour concierge, and doorman, but because there are only a few available (and all priced at several million dollars), they are also highly exclusive. .

“It really is a lifestyle. People who are used to a certain level of luxury, when they go to a condo building, they want that, ”he said.

In December, an even larger penthouse in the same building sold for $ 11 million – which was the highest condo sale in the MLS system in Quebec.

Condo sales in the city are starting to pick up. Buyers are looking for renovated homes that don’t require much renovation, Montanaro said, and are particularly drawn to units with terraces or other outdoor living spaces.

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“The reason some of the condos were taking longer to sell due to the pandemic was that people felt trapped. They felt they needed an outdoor space, ”Montanaro said. “Condos that offer the luxury of being able to step out onto the balcony are more valuable.”

The pandemic hit condo sales hard. According to the Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers of Quebec, sales fell 34 percent in the second quarter of last year compared to the same period in 2019. Data for the second quarter of this year seems to indicate that the market has recovered, registering 8,377 sales, compared to 7,230 sales in 2019.

It seems that buyers are once again looking for properties in the city. Sales in the second quarter of this year were up 53 percent in metro areas compared to last year. Outside of metropolitan areas, sales saw a notable but more moderate increase of 28 percent.

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Among the metropolitan areas of the province, the Montreal metropolitan area recorded a sustained increase in sales of 60 percent, which was mainly due to the impact of last year’s pandemic. In the second quarter of last year, the Montreal metropolitan area posted a 36 percent drop in sales compared to an average of minus 19 percent for the province’s other five metropolitan areas.

While the pandemic influenced many buyers to seek more space outside of the city, for Montanaro the recent high-level sales show that wealthy local buyers are confident in the Montreal property market and ready to invest here.

“The local market believes in the economy. And for me, that’s a great sign. “