There is a craze for the Gaspésie for a few years. The interest in the properties gaspé has upped the price by 10% since the beginning of 2019. Above, Carleton.
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June 19, 2020 20h37
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Real estate market: the Gaspé peninsula’s coveted
Gilles Gagné
The Sun
MARIA — requests for information from “people of the city” wanting to buy a home in the Gaspé to converge to the real estate agents of the Gaspé peninsula since April due to the pandemic, but the number of transactions has been slow to follow the same curve. In fact, transactions are often concluded with buyers being manifested before the outbreak of COVID-19.
The number of requests for information is so high, which bodes well for a slew of upcoming visits, as real estate agents determine a quota of visits per day, not to spend the summer washing the door handles and ventilate houses.
Louise Brash, officer for Via Capitals Horizon Maria, in the Baie-des-Chaleurs, said they had seen increase significantly the number of inquiries for homes to sell in its territory when, on 29 April, the State of quebec has ruled that the Gaspé peninsula would be open on may 18.
In short, the search for a property in the area with a low population density and reduced incidence of coronavirus elicits lust.
“From that time to April, I had 50 % more requests for information. The people wanted to come visit right away. I had to tell them : “You can’t come here because this is not allowed, and I can’t work”. The real estate agents were not allowed to work until 11 may,” says Ms Brash.
Three visits per day
It has therefore established a quota of visits per day to avoid losing “days of the month of July with the world which I’ve never heard of afterwards,” she said.
“I happened to visit 10 and even 12 houses on the same day, with a client. This year, because of the pandemic, it is necessary to ventilate the house before and after the visit, and to sanitize everything that the customer has touched. It is also a matter of respect for the seller. Then, this summer, I’m only three visits per day, with people pre-qualified by their financial institution,” says Louise Brash.
She and other real estate agents from the Gaspé attempt to ask their potential customers to have a good idea of what they want before starting a round of visits.
“Do they want a house on the side of the sea, or on the other side of the road, but with views of the sea or do they want a land? Are they aware that Pointe-à-la-Croix and Caplan, this is not the same thing? What is their budget?” says Ms Brash.
There is no profile uniform of the urban citizen of Montreal, the crown of the metropolis or of Quebec who wants to change his life.
“There are people who have clips, who have already lived here. I get emails from people who came to visit, on vacation, or people who have not yet come, but who has extolled the virtues of the region,” she notes, recalling that the approach to be taken is different according to the history of the people.
Louise Brash she believes that more transactions will be concluded with the influx of a tourist season that already looks better than the expectations suggested a month ago just?
“If I sold 25 homes to the people of Montreal at the end of the summer, I’ll be happy. But is this a fad? I don’t believe it, a wave of purchases, for the time being. In September, we will be able to quantify,” she said.
Price increase
Christian Cyr, agent Royal Lepage in New Richmond, lives in a situation different from that of Louise Brash for a month, and especially since two weeks.
“In practice, since three or four years, we feel a craze for the Gaspé peninsula. This infatuation became a reality by 2019 as action purchase. This is the case as much for retirees to young professionals tired of the big cities because of the transport time, heat, and also the price of properties,” noted Mr. Cyr.
This interest in the properties gaspé has upped the price by 10% since the beginning of 2019.
“Since 15 may, I attended a demands increase. In four cases, I have two or three bids, sometimes immediately for the displayed price, and sometimes we see the higher bid, so at the top of the displayed price. For the past two weeks, I get calls from people from Montreal wanting to visit two or three days notice. I have 12 properties with a promise to purchase currently, about 55 mandates. The pandemic has shown that telework can work. It takes the optical fiber, and it has in many parts of the territory now. The pandemic has consolidated the trend seen in two years,” said Christian Cyr.
“The difference between 20 years ago and now, is that there are good jobs available in the Gaspé peninsula. I had 2020 the best month of January since a long time. So it was before the pandemic. Then, the containment in the Gaspé peninsula, it’s like a vacation for many people, because they can go outside and enjoy the space, which is not possible in many parts of Montréal, in a building housing,” he concludes.
