SHOULD YOU BUY HOME IN POINTE-CLAIRE OR DOLLARD-DES-ORMEAUX (DDO)

Buyers that want to live in the West Island often ask me which of the two neighbourhoods, Pointe-Claire or Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, is the best place to buy.

First, let see why buyers like these two places so much. Both areas give you:

• quick access to the downtown core by car or public transport
• close to the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
• close to the Fairview shopping mall
• have access to the waterfront
• plenty of single houses on a big lot

Second, let’s look at the statistics that matters:

POPULATION STATS*

People of 45 years and over represent about 50% of total population. This stat with others help you better understand the market direction. 

The average household income for both is very similar. 

Again, the household size is very similar as well. 

Once more, the family type is very similar as well. 

Nothing new, very similar stats. 

Pointe-Claire houses are in average a little older. But both areas are made up mainly of old construction. Therefore, more of the houses will need some renovations of some sort. 

This is one of the main reasons buyers love this area. Single houses with a bigger lot. About 70% of all properties are single houses.

Both neighborhoods have high educated residents. 

DDO is slightly more diversified in terms of the population.

Both are very similar and mainly anglophone. 

The Population stats show us that both areas seem to have the same housing and population type. Buyers that fit into this profile would most likely like both areas. They are at least interchangeable on paper. At first look, nothing really sets them apart for now. 

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MARKET STATS**

The first quarter of 2019 is showing us that DDO’s single houses seem to be selling about 14% higher than Pointe-Claire when taking in median price of each market.  This can be a result of a smaller number active listing, aka sellers, relative to the demand, aka buyers.

I believe here the longer average selling time of DDO is due to the higher price range. At a higher price range, more time is needed since there are fewer buyers in the higher bracket price. 

For condos, in terms of volume compared to single homes, these are not as popular. Pointe-Claire’s condo prices are actually higher than the median price of 318,000$ on the entire island of Montreal.

Even DDO’s condo price is under 318,000$. Buyers are just not too hot to live far from downtown for no land at all. 

Conclusion

Stats has shown the not so popular Condo and the non-existent plex market. People that buy in these areas go mainly for the single home. 

Even though both markets and the buyer’s profiles are very alike, I believe the more affordable price in Ponte-Claire make it a better bang for the buck. That is why Pointe-Claire has been ranked one of the top neighborhoods in the past few years. 

But if I was a flipper, I would take a closer look into DDO, since the median price seems to be on rapid growth. Which explains why there is a higher volume of flips in the past few years in this area. 

So, what do you think? Which neighborhood is the best to buy?

* Statics provided by Statistics Canada 2016 Census

** Statics provided by Centris.ca for 2019

*** Insufficient number of transactions to produce reliable statistics