Why online estimators get it wrong here
An online estimator takes an average. It knows your address, the floor area on the municipal roll and a few nearby sales. It doesn’t know your roof is three years old, that the basement was redone, or that your backyard faces a park rather than the highway.
In Brossard, that’s even more true. Each lettered section has its own era, its own types of houses and its own distance from the REM. A city-wide average mixes a 1965 bungalow with a recent cottage near a station. The number may look precise, but it doesn’t describe your house.
What a comparative market analysis really looks at
We start from three lists, always in your section and for houses comparable to yours: same type, same era, similar floor area and lot.
First, recent sales. Not asking prices: the prices actually paid, at the notary. That’s what buyers agreed to pay.
Next, the houses for sale right now. They are the ones buyers will visit the same Saturday as yours. Your price will be judged next to theirs.
Finally, the houses that didn’t sell. They’re often forgotten, but they say a lot: they show the price the market turned down.
We then adjust for what sets your house apart: renovations, condition, lot, garage, basement, exact spot on the street. The result isn’t a single number but a realistic range, with the sales that back it up.
What moves the price, and what matters less than you’d think
What really weighs: the exact location (quiet or busy street, distance to a school, an REM station or the highway), the condition of the costly items (roof, windows, foundation, heating) and the rooms buyers look at first, the kitchen and bathrooms.
What often matters less than expected: renovations very much to the owner’s taste, an in-ground pool some buyers see as upkeep, or invisible improvements nobody documented. Keep your invoices: a renovation you can prove is worth more than one you can only describe.
The municipal assessment isn’t a price
Your tax bill shows a value. It’s used to share taxes among owners, and it’s based on the market at a past reference date. It can be higher or lower than what a buyer would pay today.
It’s a useful benchmark, not a selling price. Listing your house at the municipal assessment risks being too high, or leaving money on the table.
The right price is the one that sells
A house listed too high gets fewer visits in its first week, exactly when interest is strongest. Then it sits, and buyers start wondering why. It often ends up selling for less than if it had been priced right from the start.
Our goal isn’t to list your home. It’s to sell it. That’s why we show you the sales, one by one, before we talk about price.