A whiff of desperation will send the value of your home southward.

This past summer when a Montreal couple needed to sell their brownstone, located in downtown Montreal, in a hurry, they soon found themselves in a race to the bottom, making for a sweet situation for the buyer who stepped in to rescue them by picking up their home a hundred thousand dollars below market value.

You might be thinking it's time to purchase a home.

If you haven't decided yet whether or not to buy a home, now just might be the right time to consider purchasing one. Since the housing downturn trend began in late 2011, the Financial Post reports that buyers remain concerned that prices will continue to fall, and with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declaring Canadian homes to be overvalued by at least 10%, it might seem like a rather risky venture or perhaps adventure to purchase a home right now. We have no reliable crystal ball to tell us what to do; however, forecasts are pointing at a downward trend in Montreal due to high unemployment levels and an overstock of inventory.

So where is the incentive to buy, when you know home values are going to continue to slide?

The average price of a condo has remained stagnate over the last year.  According to Business Canada, " Compared to the first half of last year, condo sales in Montreal are down 14 percent and prices are stagnant, with the median price lingering at $225,000."  TD Bank's predicts that the weighted average price of all properties in the Montreal metropolitan area will fall 1.6 percent in 2013, perhaps, making for a buying opportunity. 

If you do decide it's a buying opportunity, don't forget to budget in the additional cost of real estate taxes and home insurance. While real estate values remain stagnate, tax assessment values of Montreal properties rose 20%. Your insurance policy should cover the value of the  property you purchase, no more or no less to avoid paying for unnecessarily high premiums or risky low premiums. Most financial banking institutions can provide you with home insurance quotes .

While Toronto's housing market is described as dizzying, here in Montreal we've entered the land of Oz, where houses are being swept up below market value.