15 real estate myths and realities

The Vancouver Sun sought to challenge a few of the myths that a lot of people have, asking the research firm Landcor Data Corp. to put real data to confirming or dispelling those ideas.

We consulted other experts, from appraisers to realtors and economists to answer our questions, such as whether renovating your kitchen gives you the best lasting bang for your buck, and whether the dramatic rise the Lower Mainland has seen in real estate prices has reached its peak.

"A lot of things surprised me," Landcor president Rudy Nielsen said in an interview about the experience of turning his research staff loose on some of The Sun's questions.

Areas north of Montreal seeing incredible residential boom

In 2006, when Manouk Alexanian decided to buy a condo, he quickly found himself priced out of Montreal.

"I looked around the downtown area for condos and the prices were high, sizes were small and the taxes were high as well," said the 29-year-old consultant. "But since my job is in downtown, I needed a fast way to get there."

Rather than sacrifice space or convenience, Alexanian began to look north, in Laval, where prices were lower and a newly-extended métro line was set to open. After less than two weeks, he found a 900-square-foot apartment for $120,000, about two blocks from the de la Concorde métro, one of the three new métro stations that opened last year.

Prices of resale homes edged up in Canada last month

The average price of a resale home in Canada's major markets was $329,383 in March (up from $327,477 in February and $325,183 in January). That leaves the average sale price up 4.0 per cent from March of last year.

For the first three months of the year, average prices realized through MLS sales were up 5.5 per cent from the first quarter of 2007. That's the smallest year-over-year price increase in seven years.

CREA figures show that overall sales fell last month by 18.7 per cent from a year earlier, while new listings grew in the first quarter.

Toronto's Real Estate Market - Boring for the Next Couple of Years

CIBC World Markets economist Benjamin Tal appears to agree. From a Globe and Mail article last week:

"It's the end of an era, if you wish," says Mr. Tal. "I think that the toronto real estate market will be more boring for the next couple of years — which may be a good thing."

Mr. Tal says one key measure — unit sales as a share of new listings — is sitting at about 55 per cent right now. Last year, it was about 65 per cent.

A range of 40 to 60 per cent is considered a balanced market, and Mr. Tal expects to see Toronto sales remain in that range. In fact, the percentage will likely to fall to 50 per cent or so, he predicts.