Lac-Brome | 2.625 million Canadian dollars ($1.829 million)
A modern-farmhouse style home with views of nearby Lac-Brome
Set near the shore of this southern Quebec town’s eponymous lake, this four-bedroom, three-bathroom house is part of a community of 32 custom homes built in 2021. The property was a weekend home for the sellers, who are returning full-time to Montreal.
Lac-Brome is in Brome-Missisquoi, one of nine regions of the Eastern Townships, a section of southeastern Quebec north of Vermont, New Hampshire and a piece of Maine. A popular year-round weekend destination for Montrealers and Ontarians, Lac-Brome is five miles from the antique shops, cafes and galleries of Knowlton, a village settled in 1802. Summertime attractions include boating and golf. In winter, skiers go to Owl’s Head, Sutton, and Ski Bromont.
Like many rural and recreational areas, this one is exempt from Canada’s 2022 ban on foreign buyers. There is no tax on foreign buyers in Quebec, unlike in British Columbia and Ontario. All Quebec buyers pay a 0.5 percent to 2 percent land transfer tax, based on purchase price.
Size: 4,355 square feet
Price per square foot: $419
Indoors: The front door opens to an open floor plan with dining, living and kitchen areas. A wood-burning Ortal stove warms the dining room and a propane model heats the living area. Glass doors open from the dining room to the backyard. The kitchen has white counters and cabinets, and a six-burner Wolf gas stove and hood. Along with a media room, the main floor includes a EuroCave wine cellar. There’s a bedroom on this floor and a small mud room off the main entrance connects to the garage.
All three upstairs bedrooms include en suite bathrooms with custom cabinets and radiant-heat floors. The primary suite has a soaking tub, double sink, a stand-alone shower and is outfitted in Calacatta marble. A windowed laundry room on this floor includes a counter and sink. Upper rooms enjoy views of boats on Lac Brome.
Floors on both levels are dark-stained, engineered maple. An integrated audio system from the Norwegian company Hegel is included. Furniture is available by separate negotiation.
Outdoor space: The owners spent more than $348,000 on outdoor lighting and landscaping, planting Norway Spruce and White Pine trees. A broad back terrace features furniture from Montreal’s Jardin de Ville and an outdoor Clementi pizza oven.
There are two parking spaces in the attached garage and a separate building has two more, plus an unfinished loft space.
Costs: Annual property taxes are 8,845 Canadian dollars ($6,162). Residents of L’Art de Vivre also pay 150 Canadian dollars ($104) per home for upkeep of three private, man-made lakes.
Racine | 2.580 million Canadian dollars ($1.8 million)
An angular hilltop home clad in copper tiles and Spanish cedar
Designed in 2010 by its original owners, this four-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,948-square-foot house received accolades for its angular exterior of copper tiles above Spanish cedar panels, meant to evoke leaves and a tree trunk. The sellers, who bought the hilltop home five years ago, are building a lakeside house nearby.
The home is on a wooded cul-de-sac about nine miles east of La Brunante, a food co-op in Racine village. Culinary offerings in Racine also include the cheesemaker Fromagerie Nouvelle France and the artisanal baker Au Coeur Du Pain. The 23-square-mile Mount Orford National Park, just south of the property, is home to white-tailed deer and great blue heron, and offers skiing, boating and rock climbing.
The house is part of Domaine Mont Cathédrale, a 10-home gated community following an “ecological charter” of environmental stewardship. Montreal is about 90 miles west. The border crossing into Vermont is about 41 miles south.
Size: 2,948 square feet
Price per square foot: $610
Indoors: The main entrance leads to a two-car garage. The ground floor also features a full bathroom with stand-alone shower. Living and sleeping areas are on the second floor, reached by stairs or elevator. There are exposed structural columns and beams, as well as heated floors in porcelain panels treated to look like wood.
The open living and dining area, with hardwood ceilings, has views of Lac-Brompton through glass sliding doors. A stone fireplace, custom-built in Finland, occupies a corner of the living room. The kitchen has a quartz-topped island, a Miele refrigerator, a Thermador induction cooktop and Gaggenau double oven. There is a windowed laundry room off the great room. Furniture is available by separate negotiation.
All four bedrooms have pocket doors. The primary en suite bedroom overlooks the lake while the others have forest views and share a bathroom.
Outdoor space: A 60-foot ipe wood terrace runs the length of the home’s rear. Lac Brompton, one of four nearby lakes, is a few hundred feet from the property, which includes 15 feet of deeded lakeshore and a private dock. The property’s six wooded acres include a clearing with a fire pit. The 1,349-foot Mont-Cathedrale looms behind the house.
Costs: Annual property taxes are 7,880 Canadian dollars ($5,500). The Village of Racine also levies an annual fee of 1,750 Canadian dollars ($1,219) for road maintenance.
Sutton | 2.649 million Canadian dollars ($1.845 million)
A sprawling home on five acres near the Mount Sutton ski resort
This four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom, 5,300-square-foot, 2021 home in the Brome-Missisquoi region is less than ten minutes by car to both the village of Sutton and the Mount Sutton ski resort. The sellers, now empty-nesters, are downsizing.
Nearby are 22 regional vineyards along the Brome-Missisquoi Wine Route. An acclaimed 26-seat eatery, Pixel Nano Resto is two miles west. Sutton’s year-round population is 4,548, but it’s a popular weekend getaway from Montreal, an hour southeast by car.
Size: 5,300 square feet
Price per square foot: $348
Indoors: To the left of the main entrance, a sprawling great room includes dining and living areas, and a kitchen with a large center island. The ground floor has maple hardwood floors and 10-foot ceilings. A double-sided glass fireplace heats the space. Floor-to-ceiling windows and doors overlook the home’s terrace, gardens and wooded grounds. There is a powder room and office on this floor.
Upstairs, the primary bedroom has an en suite bathroom with a free-standing tub, a double-sink vanity and stand-alone shower. The other two bedrooms share a bathroom and the laundry room is also on this level. There’s a second living room with a bar and wine cabinet in the basement, along with a fourth bedroom and full bathroom.
Outdoor space: The home is built on five wooded acres on a quiet dead-end street. A partially covered terrace overlooks a swimming pool, deck and cabana. The home’s two-car garage includes a finished storage loft.
Costs: Annual property taxes are 9,821 Canadian dollars ($6,841).
Contact: Nathalie Brault, Engel & Völkers Cantons de L’Est, 450-531-1290
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