Duplex to single family house conversion (Montreal)?

[Danielle Leo]

Ever since the COVID, the price for single family houses has skyrocketed in my part of town (Montreal). Interestingly, duplexes of similar size/municipal evaluation have not risen so much in comparison. Does anyone else notice this phenomenon?

I happen to have a few plexes in this area where I know it's legal to convert a duplex or triplex to a SFH. I have one that's particularly easy to convert due to its layout; I can probably do so with a 10k-20k budget once the tenants move out this summer. My estimate is if I can sell it as a SFH instead of a plex I can get a premium of 15-25%. What does everyone think of this strategy? Am I missing something?