1. S AT U R D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5 M O N T R E A L G A Z E T T E G7N E W H O M E S & C O N D O S
Financial Institution Type Variable 6 months 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years
Alterna Bank Closed 3.6 4 2.85 2.85 2.59 2.94 2.68
Alterna Savings Closed 3.6 4 2.85 2.85 2.59 2.94 2.68
Bank of Montreal Closed 3.7 4 2.89 2.84 3.39 3.89 4.74
Bank of Nova Scotia Closed - 4.55 3.29 3.09 3.39 3.89 4.49
CIBC Mortgages Closed 3.7 4.45 2.84 2.79 3.4 4.09 4.79
Caisses Desjardins Closed - 4.4 2.89 2.99 3.39 3.89 4.74
HSBC Bank Canada Closed 3.7 4.45 3.14 3.14 3.54 4.24 4.74
Home Trust Company Closed - 3.95 2.69 2.35 2.39 2.59 2.59
ICICI Bank Canada Closed - - 3.15 3.65 3.64 3.69 3.69
Investors Group Trust Closed - 4.2 3.14 3.09 3.39 3.89 4.74
Laurentian Bank Canada Closed - 4.4 2.89 2.84 3.39 3.89 4.74
London Life Closed - 4.2 3.14 3.09 3.39 3.89 4.74
Manulife Bank Closed 3.2 4.45 3 2.94 2.84 2.79 2.69
National Bank Closed - 4.4 2.89 2.84 3.39 3.89 4.74
President’s Choice Fin’l Closed - 6.19 3.14 2.79 3.34 3.99 4.44
Royal Bank of Canada Closed 3.7 3.14 3.14 3.04 3.65 4.39 4.64
T-D Mortgage Closed 3.7 3.14 2.89 2.84 3.39 3.89 4.64
Tangerine Closed - - 3.19 3.24 3.49 3.69 3.79
*Rates as of Sept. 21, 2015
MO RTGAGE RATES*
Saguy Elbaz, real-estate broker with Sotheby’s International Realty Québec, photographed in the living room of an Old Montreal loft at Unity 1 building,
454 de la Gauchetière St. W. PHOTO COURTESY OF RALPH THOMPSON, PHOTOIMAGERIE
MEGAN MARTIN
SPECIAL TO THE MONTRE AL G A ZET TE
WhilethedowntowncoreofMon-
treal has long been known as a
renters’ paradise, the short-term
rental market has experienced a
surge in recent years. From indi-
viduals renting out income prop-
erties, to companies purchasing
blocks of units for rent, several
real-estate brokers have noticed
thatdemandforshort-termleases
is on the upswing.
Short-term furnished rent-
als come in all shapes and sizes.
They range from 300-square-foot
micro-studios to multi-bedroom
penthouses. Airbnb has become a
bigplayerintheshort-termrental
market in Montreal. In fact, many
furnished rentals are listed on the
market and on Airbnb simultane-
ously.
“This allows for landlords and
owners to rent out their units
nightly, weekly or yearly and at-
tract a larger demographic,” said
Saguy Elbaz, real-estate broker
with Sotheby’s International Re-
alty Québec. “Airbnb has changed
the market for short-term rentals
in many ways; the site allows peo-
pletogeneratesomeincomewhile
theyareawayonvacationinorder
to cover their fees and expenses.”
Indeed, Airbnb makes it ex-
tremelyeasyforpeopletosublease
their units short-term, especially
during special events.
“Grand Prix this year was a per-
fect example,” said Tristan Pun-
gartnik,real-estateBrokeratRoyal
LePage Heritage. “Many people
noticedtheycouldgetgoodmoney
for their units over the hyped-up
weekend,sotheycrashatafriend’s
place or leave town for the week-
end and sublease their units.”
Downtown, Old Montreal, the
Plateau, Quartier des Spectacles,
and the financial district are a few
of the neighbourhoods where the
marketforshort-termrentalunits
is booming. There’s also a growing
demandforbigfurnishedhousesin
Westmount, Elbaz said.
“Airbnb units and short-term
rentalscanbeaverylucrativebusi-
ness. Basic 3½ apartments can be
rentedoutfor$175to$500anight,
depending on the season.”
Some larger condos and houses
arefetchingeven$7,000to$15,000
per month, he added.
Landlords, especially in the
downtown core, are adjusting to
this new demand.
“Instead of renting out a vacant
unitfor$1,200permonth,theycan
now fetch $2,000 per month with
furnitureandbasicservices,”Elbaz
said. “It’s becoming a very appeal-
ing business — so appealing that
it has been affecting my sales in a
verypositiveway.Isoldthreeunits
inasinglemonthtoinvestorswho
wanted to rent short-term.”
Pungartnik also noted that the
popularityofshort-termleasingis
drivingpeopletobuyunitswiththe
intention of furnishing them and
renting them out.
“They are essentially trying to
create mini-hotels spread over
various units in various build-
ings,”Pungartniksaid.“Inthepast,
peopleweremostlylookingtobuy
unfurnished units that they could
rentoutfor12monthsormore,but
now the furnished short-term ap-
proachisverycommonandcanbe
more profitable.”
This corner of the market is ap-
pealing to a wide range of renters
—fromvacationerswhoneedmore
space than a typical hotel room
allows for, to newcomers to the
city who want to explore different
neighbourhoods before deciding
wheretopurchaseproperty.These
rental units are also of interest to
companies hosting employees or
consultants from out of town, in-
ternational students, and movie
productions.
Theimpactonthehotelindustry,
however, has not been favourable.
In fact, hotels are the biggest vic-
tims of the advent of Airbnb.
“People who rent their units out
short-termaresupposedtobereg-
istering their units with the Cor-
porationdel’industrietouristique
du Québec and paying fees/taxes,
but no one is really cracking down
onthem,”Pungartniksaid.“Essen-
tially, people are stealing business
from the hotels, who for now have
no recourse.”
While some landlords are capi-
talizingonthistrendbyfurnishing
theirvacantunitsandplacingthem
on the market, short-term rentals
are creating a problem for others,
as most tenants are not aware of
thelawsthatcomewithsubleasing
their unit.
“The tenant is supposed to ad-
visethelandlordinwritingoftheir
intentiontosubleaseandtheland-
lord has 15 days to approve or re-
ject the request,” Pungartnik said.
“Most tenants do not respect this
law and bypass the landlords alto-
gether, which means landlords of-
ten have no idea who is occupying
their units.”
That being said, it doesn’t seem
asthoughtheseissueswilldullthe
momentum of the Airnbn/short-
term rental market in Montreal
any time soon.
“This is just the beginning,” El-
bazsaid.“Short-termsrentalswill
haveaverystrongimpactonprop-
erty values and the rental market
as a whole in the years to come.”
SHORT-TERM RENTALS Tristan Pungartnik, real-estate bro-
ker at Royal LePage Heritage.
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