O Canada
March 1, 2005
Also
attracting a large amount of
attention from across the border
is Montreal and its surrounding areas.
With the largest film
production studio
in the world recently built
just 45 minutes
north of the city, and Technicolor’s
most advanced film
lab
not far from it, Montreal is clearly on American radar.
“Over 30
percent of our buyers are from the U.S.,” says Michael Clark of Mont
Tremblant Real Estate. “The French immersion is a huge factor.
Where
else can
you go in North America and experience another
culture this
easily?” An island
city, Montreal’s most
prestigious addresses are
closest to the city’s central
mountain, Mont-Royal. “On one side is
Westmount and on the
other is Outremont,
with the property values
rising along with
the elevation,” explains Clark.
“However, the
trendiest place
to buy right now is in Vieux Montreal along the
water,
where
the canals are being reopened.
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A 37th-floor Vancouver condominium, left, is
available through Sotheby’s for
$1.198 million CAD. Right, a
summertime view of Mont Tremblant’s village. (Click image to
enlarge)A lot of Americans are buying the old historical buildings as investments and converting them to condos.” Full of cobblestone streets and French charm, the city appeals especially to baby boomers who enjoy Europe but don’t want to cross the Atlantic to visit a second home. “People oftentimes buy a condo in the city, but as their children get older and they start to have grandchildren, they want something more family oriented as well,” says Clark. “So they end up buying an additional home at Mont Tremblant.” Just over an hour from Montreal, Mont Tremblant is a 3,000-acre ski resort community at the edge of a national park with over 400 lakes, boasting its own airport, seven golf courses, 29 restaurants and thousands of condos ranging from $150,000 to $2 million CAD (about $123,000–$1.6 million USD) and homes from $500,000 to $6 million CAD (about $411,000–$4.9 million USD). “There are 55 million Americans within just a couple of hours from here, yet it’s an entirely different atmosphere for them,” says Clark. “We’re a top-ranked ski resort, but we’re actually more popular during the summer months, since our lakes get warm.”
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