The City of Montreal is expanding access to its residential acquisition support program to adapt it to soaring prices in the real estate sector. Mayor Valérie Plante hopes to forge ties with the developers, on whom she relies to materialize her commitment to create 60,000 affordable housing units in the city in the coming years.
“It is the constant dialogue that will make it possible to develop the right tools to meet the needs which are constantly changing” in the real estate sector, mentioned Tuesday Mr.me Plante, who thus extended a hand to promoters during a virtual event organized by the Urban Development Institute of Quebec (IDU), which represents several of them in the metropolis.
The mayor then announced that one of her election promises would soon come to fruition concerning the enhancement of the City’s residential acquisition support program, which since 2018 has enabled nearly 6,400 families to obtain reimbursement of fees. transfer (welcome tax) that they had to pay in the process of buying a property.
From February 16, the maximum purchase price of properties eligible for this program will increase by 15% for existing homes and 35% for new properties, confirmed Mr.me Plant Tuesday.
The largest eligible amount will thus reach $305,000 for a single person purchasing a new property. This maximum purchase cost will also increase from $630,000 to $725,000 in the case of a family acquiring an existing property.
According to the City, this measure will have the effect of doubling the number of households eligible for this program, which will then take greater account of the rapid rise in prices experienced by the Montreal real estate market in recent years.
“We consider that it meets a great need”, argued Mme Plante, who recalled that this program allows a family that acquires a property in the metropolis to receive up to $15,000 as a financial boost from the City.
Together
The IDU welcomed this announcement, during which the mayor also expressed her interest in working “hand in hand” with developers to facilitate the construction of 60,000 affordable housing units in the city, a project whose the entire financial framework has not yet been detailed. “What I find interesting is the City’s recognition that there are efforts to be made in terms of access [au logement] “, mentioned to the Duty the President and CEO of the IDU, Jean-Marc Fournier, on the sidelines of this event.
The latter, however, said he saw a lack of consistency between this announcement and the City’s decision to impose higher financial contributions on real estate developers in its By-law for a mixed metropolis, compared to the former inclusion strategy of the City. A measure which risks, according to him, “penalizing access” to the property, since this invoice will be transferred to the buyers, he argued. “It discourages densification”, thus contributing to urban sprawl, he said.
A position that Mayor Valérie Plante obviously does not share, who is counting on this regulation to accelerate the construction of social and affordable housing in Montreal. “Where we agree is that the City’s tax base and sources of revenue must be diversified” so that Montreal depends less on property tax to finance its activities, she however agreed during this virtual event.
In addition to considering the use of eco-taxation, which could take the form of a “mileage tax”, the City must increase pressure on Quebec so that the government provides more funding for the construction of affordable and social housing in the metropolis. , argued Mr. Fournier on Tuesday. Because, “if the provincial does not release the funds, it will not move forward”, he fears.