Real Estate in Park Extension during Covid-19—a surprising look

    Real estate in the community and the reasons why it stands as it does.

    Covid19 certainly did a lot of damage and while that is an evident understatement, I’d say it’s safe to assume that we all have suffered a tad at the hands of this terrible pandemic. But, there is a silver lining visible from a great distance and perhaps many have benefited from this time of disaster in the end. Of course all of this remains to be seen, but for the time being, things are looking up in the realm of real estate and here’s why …

    As things stand right now

    Multiple store fronts all over the borough have for rent signs and are boarded up

    Driving or perhaps walking around Park Ex, one may have noticed many business fronts closed up. Of course we’re not talking about at the height of Covid-19, we’re talking about right now, as the community, the city, the province, the country and the world try to get back on track amidst a threat of a new wave.

    Walking around, you see a lot of store fronts boarded up still with for rent signs. It’s enough to make many wonder about the state of the economy, and there is no question that it certainly has taken a hit, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for real estate, even in Park Extension.

    As it turns out, people seem to be buying and selling and at an incredible rate.

    We spoke to Voula Kottaridis of Royal Lepage and asked her about the state of real estate in the community and she had this to say: “One word: crazy.”

    We’d say that that is sound bite enough to carry our point across, but of course I’ve got more for you.


    Local real estate agent, Voula Kottaridis, tells us that things are “crazy” in terms of the market right now

    A surge in the market

    In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver hold the title for having the busiest and most lucrative markets when it comes to real estate, but apparently, Montréal broke a record of its own just this past July, ranking it a close third at least for a time. Things are still looking up apparently.

    Julie Saucier, the president of the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers, told CTV news last month: “Right now the market is really crazy in Montreal. But it’s really tough to say: is it because people waited, and now they can go back and sell their house? Or is it really that we’re seeing a new trend? What we’re trying to see is whether it’s that people want to have an office at home, or an extra room where they’ll be able to work from home, or is it that I want one of my parents to live with me because I don’t want them to go in a CHSLD.”

    Of course this makes sense, seeing that these are the two or rather two of the more important questions now posed because of Covid-19 … working from a home office, or keeping seniors at home, rather than at a home out of fear of the pandemic.

    As was reported by CTV, prices rose 46 per cent from last year at the very same time.

    What other experts in the field have to say

    And to go along with what Voula Kottaridis told us, summed up in one word, Rosario Calabretta, a real estate professional who’s been in the industry for many years (Remax) definitely agrees with what Voula had to say.

    He went on to tell us that the reasons for this are simple: the pandemic, resulting in low interest rates and the fact that there’s no inventory for buyers right now … essentially not enough houses for the amount of buyers out there.

    For many of the properties he sells, upon arriving, he’ll find as many as up to twenty couples waiting out in front. He also stated: “People are afraid to sell right now, and the houses sell for asking price and often even above.” He explained that many offers will come in at once—up to four at a time—and it is then that a bidding war will ensue.

    Before the pandemic, houses usually sold within 90 days … these were houses that didn’t sit on the market for a long time … and today, as things stand, houses sell within ten days. An incredible difference to say the least.

    What of the for rent signs?

    We spoke to City Councilor Mary Deros and she said that there isn’t a problem, or rather none have been reported to her.

    The for rent signs are just a sign that some businesses closed due to the pandemic, yet many that we looked into were closed even before the pandemic got underway, therefore the empty store-fronts seem to be but a mere coincidence.

    The future of real estate in the community

    The industry is never the same from one year to the next and it could certainly rise, but remember whatever goes up can also come down, so be prudent out there folks.