Are there places still affordable for households in Quebec? What house prices can a Quebec family afford to shop for? The Journal analyzed data from our real estate transactions application, enriched with information from the latest Census, to announce some good news: there are still many properties accessible to the vast majority of households in Quebec. Consult the articles in our affordable homes in Quebec file to find out in which city your next property could be located.
The happiness of a middle-class Montreal family demonstrates that slightly smaller, and especially less expensive, homes in Montreal can be an excellent choice for raising your children.
Vincent Boisvert and his partner Marie-Êve Gingras live in a type house shoebox in the Tétreaultville sector since 2017. They recently sold it for $410,000.
The house (56.9 m2) includes, among other things, a ground floor with a basement, two bedrooms and a secondary bedroom walk-in.
Moving
Made up of two young girls aged 4 and 7 who are growing up, the family needs a third bedroom and a second bathroom. They will therefore move in February four blocks from their home.
They therefore purchased a three-story semi-detached cottage at a cost of $575,000.
“When we visited the house, we were told that other visitors said ‘that it was too small to raise two children’,” noted Marie-Êve, adding that the house still has three bedrooms, a basement, a ground floor, a second floor and two bathrooms.
“It's not huge in terms of square footage, but I think people have a notion of enough space for a family that may not be adapted to real houses,” muses Mme Gingras.
“We don’t need to have a castle,” she adds ironically.
The approach
Mme Gingras, a public health professional, and Mr. Boisvert, who works on technical support for a Quebec platform be to bewere in no rush to sell though.
The couple considered other options before moving, either adding a floor or making extensions.
“We didn't want to leave, but when we considered all the renovations, we said to ourselves that it was perhaps not viable,” says Vincent.
Qualify
It was Marie-Êve who saw the announcement of the new house, she who only looked out of curiosity. It matched their prices and criteria.
“We moved quickly because there was another offer on the house,” says Vincent.
“What worked in our favor was that we bought without the condition of selling our house,” says Marie-Êve.
However, they had 120 days to sell, before taking possession.
“We had part of the 20% of the down payment, but not the total,” also indicates M.me Gingras, which indicates that the annual family household income is between $100,000 and $150,000. Above all, we needed to officially qualify.”
So they obtained proof that a family member would donate towards the down payment.
“But in reality we won’t need it,” adds Vincent.
And they are also happy for their daughters. “The house is in the same neighborhood, so that will allow us not to change our children’s habits,” expresses Marie-Êve.
