Expensive homes likely to take longer to sell

Ever wonder what you’d have to sacrifice for owning a million dollar home? The answer is a lot. You could buy 204,081 Big Macs, for $4.90 a pop, over 2,000 Habs playoff tickets, and over 6,500 dinners-for-two or over 22,000 20oz Cowboy Rib steaks at 40 Westt.

Then there are the 4 average-priced West Island homes you could buy in place of one $1 million home.

Perhaps it seems oh-so middle class to some that the median price of a single-family home in Montreal reached $227,000 in 2008 according to the Multiple Listing Service. There’s no doubt that buying a $1 million plus home propels you closer to the status of the Queen of England, whose weekend retreat, Windsor Castle, was assessed last year by the UK property values database Zoopla at $320 million.

But the biggest difference between listing a 6 bedroom, 4 bathroom $11 million home in Senneville, or a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom $300,000 home in Baie-d’Urfe, is that the former takes longer to sell—and the real estate agent will probably spend more time on the sale. “At the moment [more expensive homes] are the most depressed category,” said Henry Simek, a Royal Le Page agent in Beaconsfield. “If you go over $300,000 it requires much more time and you must be really well priced otherwise you can be there forever without a sale,” said Simek.

Another difference? While the more expensive home is likely to take longer to sell, the real estate agent will probably spend more time on the sale. “If you go to buy a Ferrari, they’ll spend more time with you than if you’re buying a Hyundai,” said Simek. “They’re working on less of a commission for the Hyundai, so obviously the service is different because they work on a smaller commission. It may sound unfair but that's the way things are.”

Currently there are 9 homes on the market for over $1 million in Senneville, ranging from $1 to $11 million, out of 26 total active listings, 8 homes over $1 million in Beaconsfield out of 62 active listings, and 12 homes over $1 million in Baie-d’Urfe, according to the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board. Out of these properties, 5 in Senneville, 5 in Beaconsfield and 7 in Baie-d’Urfe are waterfront, according to Susan Hezeltine at Royal Le Page in Senneville.

But sometimes for million dollar homes like these, it’s worth lowering the asking price. While a reasonable maximum selling price will be within 8 to 10 per cent of the original property value, a lowered asking price may result in multiple offers, and in turn a higher selling price as compared to the original asking price, said Simek.

Quite a difference from the Barbie My House playhouse for $34.97 at the local Walmarts, and the Dog Palaces dog house for around $200 from Petco. They have multiple offers on a daily basis—with no real estate commission are required—but then, the prices are non-negotiable.