Why Montreal rental rates are so lower than rest of the nation?

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

What a million will get you in Montreal now.

In 2015.

I suspect, based on the photos and locations, not one of these would go for less than $2M in Toronto -- and some for $5M

 

[DSC]

Though one can expand on this, the simple answer to the question "Why Montreal rental rates are so lower than rest of the nation?" is that the supply is greater than the demand.

 

[jje1000]

I think it's a combination of a lot of older building stock, older established landlords & stronger rent controls.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

I think it's a combination of a lot of older building stock, older established landlords & stronger rent controls.

Yes, I have made that point: If not in this thread, in others such as the Bubble one.

The government takes tenants' rights very seriously.

The city had something like a 70% tenancy rate back in the 60s-early 70s. (That stat is off the top of my head.) Ergo, more stock.

I can't speak about established landlords because, on that score, I have no info.

 

[cindywen7]

for now, maybe the city wants to attract more people to come? more affordable house price sounds very attractive....look at Toronto...

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

for now, maybe the city wants to attract more people to come? more affordable house price sounds very attractive....look at Toronto...

The city isn't building any housing. It can barely repair its roads and bridges.

And developers and landlords aren't in some secret cabal to lure people to move to Montreal.

 

[pman]

The city isn't building any housing. It can barely repair its roads and bridges.

And developers and landlords aren't in some secret cabal to lure people to move to Montreal.

Is Montreal that much worse than Toronto on infrastructure? They're doing massive rebuilds of the Echangeur Turcot and the Champlain Bridge, and their streets and sidewalks seem to be much less of a shabby, pig-ugly mess than Toronto's, at least in the core. I'm also struck by how much less of a misery it is to take the Metro than the subway here. They also seem to have built a lot of new condos along the Lachine Canal. But I don't visit Montreal that much so I'm genuinely interested in your thoughts on the comparison of the two cities.

 

[DSC]

Is Montreal that much worse than Toronto on infrastructure? They're doing massive rebuilds of the Echangeur Turcot and the Champlain Bridge, and their streets and sidewalks seem to be much less of a shabby, pig-ugly mess than Toronto's, at least in the core. I'm also struck by how much less of a misery it is to take the Metro than the subway here. They also seem to have built a lot of new condos along the Lachine Canal. But I don't visit Montreal that much so I'm genuinely interested in your thoughts on the comparison of the two cities.

When I moved to Toronto about 15 years ago I was amazed at how much better the streets and sidewalks were here. I was back in Montreal last summer and, though they have certainly fixed up several areas of the downtown core, the roads and sidewalks in the downtown residential areas I visited were still in far worse shape than those in Toronto. Of course, Montreal has harsher winters.... It is very hard to compare cities!

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

We are going next week for Easter. After winter, I am sure it will be a disaster.

As for the Champlain Bridge: Not the City of Montreal. It's the feds and a private-public partnership
http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/nbsl-npsl/agreement-entente-eng.html#section2

The Turcot is the province and private partners.
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/quebec-signs-contract-with-consortium-to-replace-turcot-interchange

The city of Montreal does not build new condos. The developers do. The idea that Montreal is building more condos is like saying Toronto City Hall is building more condos, and getting Tridel, Minto etc. to do it with city money.

Uh, no.

 

[MartinMtl]

We are going next week for Easter. After winter, I am sure it will be a disaster.

As for the Champlain Bridge: Not the City of Montreal. It's the feds and a private-public partnership
http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/nbsl-npsl/agreement-entente-eng.html#section2
http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/nbsl-npsl/agreement-entente-eng.html#section2
The Turcot is the province and private partners.
http://montrealgazette.com/news/loc...with-consortium-to-replace-turcot-interchange
http://montrealgazette.com/news/loc...with-consortium-to-replace-turcot-interchange
The city of Montreal does not build new condos. The developers do. The idea that Montreal is building more condos is like saying Toronto City Hall is building more condos, and getting Tridel, Minto etc. to do it with city money.

Uh, no.

Montreal outlines $6B plan to fix roads, revamp infrastructure
City unveils ambitious 3-year infrastructure plan to fix major arteries, improve road quality

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-construction-three-year-plan-1.3832545

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

Well that's good news, and about time:

<The announcement comes on the heels of a recent study by the city, which found that 22 per cent of sewers, 14 per cent of the water system and 45 per cent of roads do not meet an acceptable level of service.>

You can make a small fortune picking up hubcaps off the side of roads.

And people have been killed by falling concrete.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...amed-on-extreme-temperature-changes-1.2495714

So please don't tell me that Montreal was/is in great shape, although I think the Metro is awesome.

Also:

<The three-year plan also sets out a number of priority projects for the city.

They include:

$34.7 million for the creation of a new Montreal-operated animal control centre.
$24.5 million for the extension of Cavendish Boulevard.
$17.9 million to renovate Montreal's baseball parks.
$12.4 million to develop the "River-to-Mountain" urban walkway for the city's 375th birthday.>

With respect to Cavendish, I have been waiting for that since I was a girl. That was probably before you were born.

 

[narduch]

I'm in Montreal a lot for work and I still would not say their road and bridge infrastructure beats Toronto. It is nice to see them investing in fixing it though.

As for rental rates. Those are tied to property values. So it would make sense that they are lower in Montreal.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

Montrealers are sharing information about how much they pay to rent their apartments on a new website -- and some landlords in the city are upset about it.

 

[dom rem]

Taxes are higher overall. But at least the city clears the snow from the sidewalks.

Thats what we need, the city to start giving back again like they used to including more than 1 or 5 garbage bag pick up.

 

[dom rem]

Isn't rent to own always better than just paying rent?