2007: Another great year for Westmount real estate

Top price of the year involved 55 Belvedere Place, one of the sections of the former Noah Timmins mansion which was split apart in 1962, which changed hands for $5.25 million, less than the other section of the massive building, at 65 Belvedere Place, which sold for $5.6 million in September, 2006. That price was the only sale above $4 million last year, with the next-highest price involving 4334 Westmount Avenue, corner Argyle Avenue, which sold for $3.8 million.

The lowest price in 2007 was registered in the $379,000 sale of 6 Burton Avenue, the only sale last year below $400,000, while close by one of the new townhouses at 4860 St. Catherine Street brought the next-lowest price, $415,000. Both sales were registered in February. The Burton avenue sale was 15 per cent lower than its municipal evaluation, but that was not the biggest markdown of the year; that involved 4337 Westmount Avenue which sold for $900,000, some 26 per cent lower than its tax assessment.

Only two sales went for more than double their tax value, with a coach house at 17 Severn Avenue selling in June for $1.5 million while evaluated at only $633,600, and a home at 4547 Sherbrooke Street which sold in late October for $1.1 million when it was given a valuation of $542,400.

For statistical purposes duplexes are counted along with single-family dwellings but in fact only 10 full duplexes sold last year, for prices ranging from $620,000 for 29-31 Bruce Avenue (December) to $1.3 million for 4321-23 de Maisonneuve Boulevard (March). The double-coach-house at 565-65a Victoria Avenue was the only two-family dwelling to sell below valuation last year.

Perhaps more important among duplexes were the share-sales — there were six, with prices ranging from $379,000 to $509,000, while three flats in two triplexes sold for prices ranging from $295,000 to $483,000. A dozen more shares of duplexes and triplexes which had been 'condominiumized' sold during the year in a range of $250,000 for 3171 St. Antoine Street to $687,200 for 426 Mount Stephen Avenue.

Sales of condominium apartments were more modest than in 2006, with only three prices over $1 million, the highest was $2 million for the top-floor Apartment 601 at 285 Clarke Avenue. On the low side were Apartment 207 at 1 Wood Avenue, whose $160,000 price represented only 50 per cent of its valuation, and Apartment 7 at 343 Clarke Avenue, whose $173,900 price was 55 per cent higher than valuation. The two were the extremes of variation from municipal assessment.

Overall, condos sold for only 4.9 per cent more than the new 2007 valuations, while one- and two-family dwellings sold for 18.5 per cent above valuation. And though six sales look like fantastic flips within the same calendar year, they are mostly renovation and resale, led by 652 Roslyn Avenue which was picked up in April for $900,000 and then turned over in November for $1.66 million. Only 481 Victoria, among the double-sales, did not experience much change between the January and June sales, while its price increased from $730,000 to $775,000.

Among “other” sales last year were two entire triplexes, 337 Elm Avenue and 4642-46 St. Catherine Street, and two apartment buildings, 235 Metcalfe Avenue and 339 Victoria Avenue, as well as four commercial or semi-commercial buildings including the year’s highest price, $27,066,318, for the RCMP building at 4225 Dorchester Boulevard which sold from the federal government to a holding company in October. Also sold were several commercial condominiums at 1 Wood Avenue which had been seized by the Sheriff of Montreal in March and then sold off for prices ranging from $1,700 to $8,000. The commercial “mall” in that building has been largely abandoned and draws little pedestrian traffic.

Also sold in 2007 were two more usufruct sales at 435-39 Grosvenor Avenue. It is significant that no vacant land sales were transacted in Westmount last year.