This is the home that would have become the most expensive selling Quebec ever

Located at the foot of Mount Royal on Avenue des Pins, in the heart of the very opulent Golden Square Mile, the property is priced at $ 29.9 million.

If we sell close to our asking price, it will be the most expensive home ever sold in QuebecSays Lisa Kaufman, broker in charge of selling and co-founder of Sotheby’s Quebec real estate agency.

The sale price to be exceeded $ 18 million. This is the amount for a Redpath-Crescent home that was sold last year by Lisa Kaufman. So the broker is on his way to breaking his record.

The 32,000 square feet (nearly 3,000 square meters) mansion contains 67 rooms, including 12 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. It is located on a huge plot of land of 0.8 hectares (more than 8000 square meters).

The current owners want to get rid of it because it will be too big for them, because their children will soon leave the family nest. Three potential buyers are already interested in having it.

We have a meeting with a local group in a few weeks, we have a buyer from France and another from California, Indicates the mediator.

A real museum

Lisa Kaufman describes the house, built in 1926, as an Italian Renaissance mansion. And with good reason. Coffered ceilings, decorated with painted and carved patterns, were designed by craftsmen from Italy.

The foyers of the house dating back to the 14th century were imported from Italy, as were the chandeliers and the marble columns. There is also a seat made in Siena … that is none other than the Pope.

The property was built for John McConnell, a Montreal industrialist who made his sugar fortune. He entrusted his project to an architect famous for his work with high-end American society.

Charles Platt, who at the time designed the palaces of the Rockefeller and Astor families in the United States, rented. He asked her to go to Italy with a team to find the best materials in the various palaces. There are artifacts in this house that could be in a museumThis is Lisa Kaufman.

And special guests, such as Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, have already slept at home. The room in which the king placed her head on the pillow has been preserved symmetrically.

The properties were donated, bought, and then restored

The house on Avenue des Pins was altered ten years after the death of John McConnell, who breathed his last in 1963.

It was not sold, but granted, thus continuing the philanthropic work of the industrialist in Montreal.

The Benedictine monks first inherited the property, which became their monastery. It was then used as a meditation center, before current owners bought it about twenty years ago.

They invested $ 20 million to restore it and wipe out the passage of time. The heating of charcoal has left traces in particular.

When they moved, the roofs were completely covered in soot. They didn’t know what was underneathThis is Lisa Kaufman.

The owners enlisted consultants from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to carry out work to preserve the authenticity of the home.

I think this is a property Montreal residents can be proud of. I think this home is a lot higher than the Casa Loma house in TorontoLisa Kaufman concludes with a laugh, referring to the castle, which is one of the most important tourist attractions in Queen City.

Luxury homes are common

Luxury home sales have quadrupled in 10 years in Quebec, according to a study by JLR Solutions foncières.

In 2010, 486 properties worth $ 1 million or more were traded in the county. The number of transactions increased every year after that.

The increase was especially large from 2019 to 2020, when the number of luxury properties sold jumped by 50%, from 1602 to 2402.

With prices slowly rising, there are more and more properties that will cross the million dollar mark. Therefore, the number of transactions at these prices will increaseJLR Land Solutions economist Joanie Fontaine says.

The epidemic has had an impact, too. The number of luxury properties sold outside of Greater Montreal jumped 10% last year. And the more fortunate also seems attracted to the greenery.

We’ve seen interest in high-volume properties, waterfront, and more from the resort segment that has been in high demand this year.Ms. Fontaine confirms.

Foreign buyers accounted for 3% of luxury real estate in Quebec in 2020, a decrease of 2% compared to the previous year.