Rising home prices could lead to negative talent flow

Affordable housing has given this city an edge in attracting talent, boosting culture

If you already own a house, a condo or any piece of real estate, a bump in prices is probably music to your ears — doubly so if you’re planning on selling in the short term. But for those who were planning to buy in the near future and for the city in general, the tune might not be a hit.

For years, Montreal’s magical quality has been augmented by its relative affordability. It attracted bright minds from elsewhere and gave homegrown talent a reason to stay, rather than absorbing the higher cost of living in Toronto or New York.

It was our best sales pitch. It’s part of why companies like Ubisoft came to town. Montreal was inexpensive and attractive for them — even more so for their employees.

Montrealers reaped the rewards. The low cost of living gave people the cash and flexibility to invest in other things. Montrealers could turn passion projects into revenue streams, and starting a business was a less daunting task here.

Countless people I’ve talked to, in different fields, have mentioned the low housing prices and rent in Montreal as the city’s “it” factor.

It helped the city develop a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a strong creative community. A bunch of entrepreneurs and creative types living in proximity to one another fosters growth and innovation.

It also gave residents more disposable income to inject back into local businesses. Montreal has one of the very best restaurant scenes in North America and one of the reasons it thrives is because many Montrealers can afford to eat out.

The money we saved on things like rent and mortgage payments became the lifeblood of Montreal as we know it. It’s why the city was a great landing spot for artists and part of why it has been perennially considered a top destination for university students.

It may be circular logic, but the city’s attractiveness and affordability are at least partly at the root of the current surge in prices. Formerly affordable neighbourhoods are now anything but — for those looking to rent and buy alike.

Now what? Will Montreal’s identity drastically change in the next 18 months? No. Honestly, most won’t notice much of a change in the short term.

But it’s very possible that we will start to see a negative talent flow from the city, with fewer individuals and fewer companies coming to Montreal, and more native Montrealers — and Montreal companies — leaving for pastures that have become only slightly more expensive.

Whatever your personal view of an increase in prices, the current housing market situation — crisis, bubble, appreciation, correction — will leave Montreal dealing with the repercussions.

Steps are being taken to mitigate any outflow, though. The provincial government is offering tax breaks for first-time buyers. Meanwhile, Montreal is making a concerted effort to offset higher living costs with programs like Accès jardins, which will offer 100,000 square metres of green space in Ville-Marie.

Even more important is last week’s announcement of municipal funding to help young families acquire residential property, with a particular emphasis on the downtown core, where countless new buildings now dot the skyline. Making home ownership affordable is important, but so is keeping people in the heart of the city, and this program aims to accomplish both.

It’s programs like these that will help keep Montrealers in Montreal and allow us to continue to invest in arts, culture, entrepreneurship and our neighbourhoods. We can’t control the prices in the city, but the least we can do is try to offset them before it’s too late, whether that’s with subsidies or neighbourhood “beautification” programs.

Discussions about the housing market tend to revolve around buzzwords like stress tests, foreign buyers and bubbles; but for Montreal, it’s about more than that.

It’s about our city’s identity.