Buying a charming home in a vibrant, urban neighborhood is a challenge on a limited budget. If location is your number one priority, what does $500,000 buy in the hottest neighborhoods in Montreal, Toronto and Calgary?
Montreal is famous for bagels, Mordecai Richler, the Arcade Fire, and shockingly low housing prices. Right? While most Montrealers love to brag about their puny mortgage payments and spacious downtown homes, this is quickly becoming an urban legend. Housing prices in Montreal have risen dramatically and affordability is at an all-time low. Although $500,000 will buy a traditional walk-up in a fantastique postal code, don’t expect Santa to bring you a fully renovated five bedroom house in your stocking.
Moving west to Toronto, high inventory has taken the sizzle out of bidding wars, but the same pushy competitiveness that besets the Queen (Toronto's urban core where hipsters continuously try to outrun gentrification) streetcar at 5:02pm is also how Torontonians approach real estate. Small period homes in key downtown neighborhoods are still accessible for $500,000, but prepare for competition and anticipate some DIY adventures.
While the rest of the country’s real estate market was on fire this past spring, Calgary’s recovery has been much slower, likely reflecting the city's rise in unemployment. Inventory is low and many inner-city period homes are being replaced with new condos and townhouses. Original charmers are a needle in a haystack, especially with what local realtors consider a “condo-only budget,” so if you find one downtown for $500,000, anticipate a wild west stand-off.
Montreal
4885 rue Hutchison
List price: $499,000
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: The heart of Outremont, only steps from Parc Mont Royal, heaven for outdoor enthusiasts and famously designed by Frederick Law Olmstad, the landscape architect responsible for Manhattan’s Central Park. Night owls will enjoy the proximity to uber-hip Mile End and foodies will rejoice on nearby Laurier and Bernard Avenues.
THE CASA: A spacious 1300 sq foot walk-up built in 1922 with 2+1 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and oozing with period charm - original wood floorboards, cornicing, moldings, exposed brick and two fireplaces.
AGENT INFO: Jeffrey Baker, Royal LePage Dynastie
PARKING: Separate garage available
Toronto
40 Henderson Avenue
List price: $499,000
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Prime Little Italy, Toronto's premier neighborhood to eat, drink and be merry. Follow up a stroll in see-and-be-seen Trinity Bellwoods Park with a piping hot panzerotti at local favourite Bitondo's Pizzeria, visible from your front porch.
THE CASA: A period 1000 sq foot recently renovated attached house with 2+1 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and hardwood flooring throughout.
AGENT INFO: Clive McLean, Bosley Real Estate Ltd.
PARKING: 1 spot
Calgary
714 5th Street NW
List price: $499,000
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Lively Kensington, one of Calgary's oldest neighborhoods and home to the city's best amenities. A short walk downtown and only a half block from the beautiful Bow River makes for a great balance of work and play. If shopping is your sport of choice, Kensington has been voted the city’s #1 shopping district by the Calgary Herald Reader’s Choice Awards for ten years in a row.
THE CASA: A cosy 850 sq foot bungalow built in 1912 with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom.
AGENT INFO: Joan French, Discover Real Estate
PARKING: 2 spots
By: Samantha Mastai of www.thehousefly.ca
Looks like Montreal wins for value! What do you think? Which house would you live in?
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