Montreal market resilient in face of pandemic

As the saying goes, “There’s no place like home.” Buying your own home ensures both comfort and safety, which is why real estate holds significance for a lot of people. However, even with the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the real estate market is still hot in Montreal compared to other Canadian cities. 

Montreal’s real estate market has withstood the mounting severity of the pandemic, with property prices growing 12.5%, because people have taken advantage of low-interest rates to upgrade their homes or invest in real estate. Another reason for the growth is the government’s implementation of standard operating procedures, which all Montreal sales agents follow strictly.

How have real estate companies in Montreal handled business amid the pandemic?

The pandemic has destroyed businesses across the world. What’s surprising is that real estate companies in Montreal have still managed to advance sales and have shown excellent growth.

According to Centris statistics, the sales volume is much higher in Q2-2020 than it was in 2019. A major reason is, as the COVID-19 pandemic has helped them realize, people need more space, including for office space inside their homes, and this shift will definitely keep the real estate market hot.

Montreal’s real estate brokerages and sales agents have tweaked how they work and adopted digital signatures, virtual notarization, and virtual property tours. In addition to quickly adapting to digital methods and following all safety precautions, some other reasons for the Montreal market’s performance are:

360-degree virtual tours

In Montreal, agents and brokerages have started working with real estate photographers who have expertise in creating virtual home video tours. These bring property listings to life and help prospective buyers feel the space without actually being physically present there. These 360-degree video tours are very interactive and fully controlled by the viewers, replicating the walk-through experience while keeping agents and buyers safe. 

E-signatures and the end of paperwork

As mentioned earlier, Montreal’s sales agents have adopted digitized methods to facilitate real estate deals. Now all property deals are completed via electronic signatures, which eliminate contact between parties. This mode of signing is legitimate and can be encrypted by a tamper-evident seal. 

Live sessions via Facebook Live and Zoom

To avoid all the fuss, Montreal real estate firms have made things virtual, as face-to-face meetings contravene government-mandated social distancing protocols. Agents in Montreal have been showcasing properties via Facebook and Zoom sessions.

Online notarization 

Realtors in Montreal have started using online notarization methods that eliminate the process of signing in the notary public presence. Now homebuyers connect with the commissioned e-notary public in a couple of minutes through live video calls anytime they want. The whole process takes fewer than five minutes, from connecting the notary public to downloading the final notarized PDF. By using online notarization, real estate companies and agents in Montreal have created happier customers, and it’s resulted in higher sales this year. 

Video channels on YouTube 

Many real estate agents and companies are running channels on YouTube where the public can watch videos about properties’ details. Interested homebuyers now go to viewings without even leaving their own homes.

Private video call meetings

Real estate sales agents in the city are communicating through video calling tools like WhatsApp, Facetime, and Skype, and this eliminates physical contact while providing convenience to clients. 

Final words 

COVID-19 has changed our lives, in some ways for the better, and in others for the worse. However, in Montreal, the real estate industry is still on fire, and it looks like that will continue into 2021.

Alp Perez is a broker with Royal LePage.

Alice Yang