Residents of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine are concerned that building construction is transforming the archipelago into a “Club Med”. The sale of a luxury house and the unveiling of an architectural project caused an uproar on social networks this week.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The publication on Facebook of the announcement of a house for sale in Havre-aux-Maisons put the Madelinots in all their states. Listed price: $795,000, a disproportionately high sum for the Islands market, where the average property value of single-family homes is $154,885, according to the Institut de la statistique du Québec. The publication was relayed a hundred times by “discouraged” Internet users.
SCREEN CAPTURE PROVIDED BY KEVEN BARRETTE
The announcement of a house for sale at $795,000 in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine sparked a lot of reactions on Facebook.
The next day, the Montreal architecture firm L’Abri also published on Facebook the plans for its House on the Dune, perched in the Aubert harbour. The agency quickly took down its post after comments it described as “hostile”. Several remarks expressed fears about the deterioration of an already fragile environment.
Image TAKEN FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE FIRM L’ABRI
The House on the Dune by the architecture firm L’Abri
“What I see is that it’s becoming a Club Med for tourists. There will be fewer and fewer inhabitants here,” laments Keven Barrette, a seasonal worker on the Islands since 2010 and a year-round resident for two years. Faced with the accelerated rise in property values, he plans to leave the region to settle elsewhere.
Growing real estate speculation is in fact limiting the purchasing power of Madelinots, whose average employment income is $35,585, according to the Institut de la statistique du Québec. The pressure is very real.
Last May, 37 properties worth $250,000 to $500,000 were sold in Gaspésie and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, almost twice as many as the 19 in May 2021, confirm data published the last week by the Government of Quebec. This is, all things considered, the largest jump in the province during this period. Also in May, eight properties sold for more than $500,000, unheard of since 2014.
According to data from the Centris site, the median price of single-family homes has increased by 24% in the Magdalen Islands over the past four quarters.
A trend slightly higher than that observed everywhere in Quebec, and especially more marked than in Montreal, which recorded an increase of 14% during the same period.
It is difficult for young people to settle and continue their life on the archipelago when property prices are rarely below $300,000, underlines Joël Lapierre, a Madelinot who fears seeing his heritage soar.
He sees a “change of mentality” taking place, while some tourists, for example, are closing their land. Thus, “we no longer have the right of way on the beaches that we have frequented since we were children,” laments Tanya Déraspe, a native of the Magdalen Islands.
We really like people from elsewhere. We are welcoming, but there is an issue for our descendants.
Joel Lapierre, Madelinot
“We want to come back home, but it’s no longer accessible to us,” continues Tanya Déraspe, who considers herself lucky to inherit her uncle’s family home.
The rental market is not more welcoming. Although the municipality banned in 2021 the purchase of a property to make it a tourist residence, the housing crisis is at its worst, as evidenced by the housing vacancy rate of 0.1%, calculated by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Out of control ?
The mayor of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Jonathan Lapierre, recognizes the emotion that inhabits his community, but appeals for calm. “We can accuse someone who buys [une maison] too expensive. Someone oversold it too,” he says.
Gabriel Boudreau Savard and René Lemay, real estate brokers in charge of selling the prestigious house for $795,000, speak of a “spectacular” and “exceptional” situation. According to them, this is an international phenomenon far from being unique to the Magdalen Islands.
Since there is no hinterland, the capacity for development is rather limited, nuance Joël Arseneau, PQ MP for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
The high demand for a pied-à-terre on the archipelago worries the Madelinots and generates a feeling of “dispossession,” adds Mr. Arseneau.
The pandemic has helped to inflate the value of properties, explains Jonathan Lapierre, who recalls that the regions have become attractive destinations for people from outside.
In 2021, the archipelago recorded 57,600 visitors, almost double the previous year. We even approached the record of 63,250 visitors reached in 2019.
“The Islands have become attractive for visitors, and they have become just as attractive for vacationers,” confirms Joël Arseneau.