Two July sales hit $4 million

Two Westmount homes topped the $4 million mark in sales registered in July this year, including a former bungalow at 18 Summit Circle which has been entirely reconstructed and modernized with a view over the entire city, which sold for $4,375,000.

The other sale, the mansion at 3803 The Boulevard, sold for “$1 and other good and valuable considerations,” which were declared on the deed as having a value of $4.1 million.

Those two top a list of 16 single-family homes for which deeds were signed in mid-summer, helping pull up the average purchase price to almost $1,454,000, the highest raw average price since March of 2005.

The average markup over municipal evaluation was 30 per cent, which means the 'typical' Westmount house with a valuation of $998,480 would have been worth just over $1.3 million.

Westmount also received six new deeds which had been registered in April and a bevy of deeds registered in June but not included with the regular sales lists for that month. The addition of 13 more sales for single-family houses in June brings the total for the month to 41, the highest number registered in a June since 1999. June is normally the busiest month of the year for signing deeds, and certainly this year is no exception.

The Montreal registry office may produce more deeds for July, as well, considering the list provided does not have any sales registered between July 15 and 22 which appears somewhat suspicious, though it is possible.

In April, the 'extra' deeds include two single-family dwellings, three condominiums and a share of the triplex at 84-88 Somerville Avenue, including exclusive use of 88 Somerville. For June, the late arrivals include the highest-priced sale of the month, 815 Upper Lansdowne Avenue, which sold for $3,275,000. Besides the 13 single-family additions, a two-family home which was marketed as a single-family home at 4450 de Maisonneuve Boulevard sold for $900,000, and a 70-per cent commercial building at 4263-65 Ste. Catherine Street West, between Olivier and Clarke Avenues, sold for $1,160,000.

As for July, the lowest price among single-family homes involved 136 Irvine Avenue, for $440,000, which is the lowest price registered for a Westmount home since February, 2007. That was slightly more than its municipal evaluation, but in fact 588 Lansdowne Avenue sold for even less than tax value, though the amount was $740,000. Highest markup for the month was registered in the $1,325,000 sale of 3756 The Boulevard, which was only evaluated at $771,400.

Overall, 10 of the 16 sales in July went for more than $1 million, again indicating that the $1 million mark is now commonplace in Westmount. Both of the home sales added to the April list and seven of the 13 latecomers in June were for more than $1 million.

Only one deed was signed for a condominium in July, though two co-operative apartments were sold as well as the small apartment building at 4652 Sherbrooke Street, between Lansdowne and Roslyn Avenues. The three condos added to the April list bring the total number sold in the second quarter of 2008 to 18, with an average markup of only 10 per cent compared to the average markup for single-family homes hovering around the 30 per cent mark.

The new sales provided by the registry office bring the total one- and two-family list for the year to 127, compared to an average just under 118 over the last dozen years. By July of last year some 130 sales had been registered, but otherwise this year’s volume is the strongest it had been since 1999.

NOTE: The preceding article relates to the registration of deeds of sale for Westmount property in April, June and July, 2008, provided by City officials.