The government’s call for people to encourage local retailers seems to have been felt across Quebec’s commercial arteries, many of which are looking much better than at the same time last year with the pandemic.
“I think that we have become aware in recent months of the importance of our neighborhood shops,” replied the Newspaper Christian-Pierre Côté, co-owner of the valuation firm Côté Mercier Conseil Immobilier.
The latter analyzed the health of some sixty commercial arteries, taking into account their vacancy rate. The streets studied go from Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, via Quebec and Trois-Rivières, to Montreal.
While we have long feared business closures, this bleeding does not seem to have happened, at least not yet. In Quebec, the vacancy rate for commercial spaces is 5.5%.
“During the pandemic, in 2020, we saw vacancies increase by 1%, or even 2% or 3%. It is still a phenomenon that we do not often see. This has been generalized ”, analysis in Newspaper Mr. Côté.
However, the chartered appraiser believes that by “boosting” the economy with aid programs, governments have allowed some traders to find themselves in a “more enviable” position than last year. As a result, some commercial arteries are even healthier than in 2019.
The 3e Avenue in Quebec
In the national capital, the average rate of vacant premises on commercial arteries is 5.9%. It was 6.2% in 2019 and 7.4% in 2020.
It is again 3rd Avenue (1.1%), in Limoilou, which wins the title of busiest artery by shops. Conversely, rue Saint-Joseph (7.6%), where Groupe Mach owns several properties, and boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel (7.6%) are at the back of the pack.
“I have nothing to complain about, frankly, I don’t know what kind of wave we’re going through, it’s even better than before. We’ve been doing very good business since the end of the summer. There are several nice shops here and people like to come to do their shopping, ”said the Newspaper Louis Lefebvre, owner of the Chez Lefebvre brand, located on 3rd Avenue.
According to Côté Mercier, the arteries that have the best results often have businesses “connected with their customers. [fleuristes, boulangeries, fruiteries, restaurants de quartier] And demand from their neighborhood. The co-owner of the real estate appraisal firm adds that when a vacancy rate exceeds 6% or 7%, “it’s time to ask questions”.
Jarry East in Montreal
In the metropolis, rue Jarry Est (0%) and rue Masson (0.8%), boulevard Newman (2.4%) and avenue du Mont-Royal (2.9%) are the healthiest in the city. rental point of view.
“We’ve been here for six months, before we were downtown. And it’s really interesting. We have more visibility, there is traffic, it’s easy to park. We take advantage of a great synergy and we have a lot of local customers, but also who come from other neighborhoods and even from Toronto, ”says Marc-Olivier Gendron, owner of Vegâteau (Mont-Royal).
However, business is more difficult on Saint-Denis Street (10.6%) which has one of the worst rates across the province.
“We’ve been here since 2000. It was a beautiful street, full of restaurants. But now the street is unfortunately dead. We had work, once, twice. And the bike path is the final stab, ”believes Mélissa de Repentigny, buyer at Olam boutiques. “We are even thinking of moving and going elsewhere. Is it worth staying here? We are the last Mohicans. It’s really sad what’s going on here, ”she continues.
Note that Côté Mercier’s study does not take Sainte-Catherine Street into account. The firm says it preferred to remove it from its analysis because of the numerous works and the impact on traders.
Commercial arteries in Quebec are mainly made up of restaurants (23.8%), retail businesses (40%) and office spaces (25.4%).
For the next few months, the recent tightening of the criteria for business assistance programs, such as the wage subsidy, and the end of certain programs could have an impact on traffic on commercial streets.
Commercial arteries of Montreal in 2021
- Average vacancy rate: 4.3%
- Ontario Street East: 4.0%
- Avenue du Mont-Royal: 2.9%
- Boulevard Saint-Laurent: 3.7%
- Avenue Saint-Viateur: 3.6%
- Saint-Denis Street: 10.6%
- Masson Street: 0.8%
- Plaza St-Hubert: 6.5%
- Fleury Street: 3.1%
- Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges: 4.3%
- Monkland Street: 4.9%
- Jarry Street East: 0.0%
- Jean-Talon Street West: 3.3%
- Jean-Talon Street East: 4.5%
- Boulevard Newman: 2.4%
- Boulevard Maurice-Duplessis: 5.9%
Source: Côté Mercier Conseil Immobilier