Montreal Condo Market 2026

Centris third-quarter 2026 figures for Island condos

Centris, the Quebec real estate brokers' listing system, publishes quarterly statistics by area. Its third-quarter 2026 figures for the Island of Montreal show a condo market that has stopped rising. The median condo sale price was $477,000, the same as in the third quarter of 2025. There were 1,728 condo sales, 15% fewer than a year earlier. Active condo listings averaged 6,696, 12% more than a year earlier, and condos took an average of 67 days to sell.

On our arithmetic, 6,696 listings against roughly 576 sales a month (1,728 over three months) is about 11 to 12 months of inventory at the third-quarter pace. That is a crude measure because the summer quarter is seasonally slow and Centris's inventory figure is an average, but it points in the same direction as the sales decline: more condos are for sale than buyers are absorbing.

Single-family homes on the Island tell a different story. Their median price rose 2% to $812,000. The gap between condos and houses is widening, which is the same pattern seen in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary in 2026, though much milder in Montreal.

The Greater Montreal apartment benchmark since 2016

The CREA MLS HPI apartment benchmark covers the whole Montreal census metropolitan area, including Laval and the South Shore, and adjusts for the type of unit sold. It was $229,100 in March 2016. Unlike Toronto or Vancouver, Montreal condos rose steadily rather than in bursts: $260,900 by September 2018, $281,700 by September 2019, $310,700 by September 2020 and $353,400 by September 2021.

When the Bank of Canada raised rates in 2022, Montreal's apartment benchmark dipped from $396,400 in March 2022 to $375,000 in September 2022, a 5.4% drop. Then it resumed climbing: $387,600 in September 2023, $411,000 in September 2024 and $427,600 in September 2025. It reached a new high of $446,700 in June 2026.

Since June the benchmark has eased 4.2% to $427,900. Over twelve months it is flat. Over ten years it is up 87%, against 57% for the Greater Toronto apartment benchmark over the same period. Of the four biggest condo markets, Montreal is the only one whose apartment benchmark set a record this year, which makes the recent pullback worth watching.

How Montreal condos compare with Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary

One way to see how different Montreal is: compare each city's apartment benchmark with its single-family benchmark. In September 2026, the Montreal apartment benchmark was 62% of the single-family benchmark ($427,900 against $689,500). In Greater Toronto it was 47% ($527,200 against $1,116,700), in Calgary 45% ($304,900 against $679,600) and in Greater Vancouver 38% ($682,500 against $1,792,900).

A high ratio means condos are priced closer to houses. Our reading is that it reflects condos serving as a mainstream first home in Montreal, rather than a product bought largely by investors, as was common in Toronto and Vancouver presales. That would help explain why Montreal condos kept rising through 2023 to 2025 while Toronto condos fell.

Year-over-year change tells the same story. In September 2026 the Montreal apartment benchmark was up 0.1%. Calgary's was down 6.0%, Greater Vancouver's down 6.2% and Greater Toronto's down 6.7%. Montreal is the outlier, though the gap is closing as Montreal condo sales slow. See the Toronto condo market, Vancouver condo market and Calgary condo market pages for each city.

Montreal against Toronto: a gap that has nearly closed

The most striking change in Canadian condo prices over the past four years is how close Montreal has come to Toronto. In March 2016 the Greater Montreal apartment benchmark was $229,100 and the Greater Toronto apartment benchmark was $335,900. Montreal condos cost about 68% of Toronto condos.

Toronto then pulled far ahead. By September 2019 Montreal's apartment benchmark was $281,700 against Toronto's $524,800, or 54%. At the March 2022 peak it was $396,400 against $730,500, still 54%, and the dollar gap had grown to $334,100.

Since then the two markets have moved in opposite directions. Toronto's apartment benchmark fell to $527,200 by September 2026, while Montreal's rose to $427,900. Montreal condos now cost 81% of Toronto condos, and the dollar gap is $99,300, smaller than it was in 2016.

This matters for buyers in both cities. In Toronto, the condo correction has made units more affordable relative to Montreal than at any point in a decade. In Montreal, condos have lost much of their price advantage, which makes the cooling sales and rising listings in the third quarter more significant. Montreal's lower rents mean the two cities are still very different for renters, but for buyers the gap is much narrower than it used to be.

Owning a condo under Quebec's co-ownership rules

Condos in Quebec are held under divided co-ownership, governed by the Civil Code of Québec rather than the condo statutes used in other provinces. Each building has a syndicate of co-owners, which manages common areas, sets fees and keeps a contingency fund for major repairs. The rules differ from Ontario or B.C. in their terms and documents, so buyers moving from other provinces should not assume the same protections apply.

Quebec updated its co-ownership rules in a 2019 law that strengthened what syndicates must keep and disclose, including a maintenance logbook, a study of the contingency fund needed for future repairs and a certificate describing the state of the co-ownership for buyers. Where a syndicate's contingency fund falls short of what its study recommends, contributions have to rise, and that shows up as higher monthly fees.

For buyers, that means fees on older Montreal condos may rise faster than they did in the past, and a low current fee is not necessarily a good sign. A building with a recent contingency fund study and fees set to match it is usually a safer purchase than one with low fees and an underfunded reserve. Our condo fees guide explains how fees are set.

Montreal buyers also pay the land transfer duty commonly called the welcome tax, which in Montreal uses higher rates on the upper brackets than the provincial default. It is due after closing, and first-time buyers sometimes overlook it in their budget. See our Quebec closing costs guide for how it is calculated.

What to check before buying a Montreal condo in a cooling market

With listings up 12% and days on market at 67, buyers in Montreal have more time than they did in 2024 or 2025. These are the documents and facts that matter most.

• The declaration of co-ownership. It sets the rules of the building, including use restrictions, rental rules and how costs are shared.
• The contingency fund study and fund balance. Compare the recommended contributions with what the syndicate actually collects.
• Syndicate minutes for the past two to three years. Look for planned work on the roof, facade, balconies, windows or garage, and for any disputes.
• Recent sales in the same building. With the Island median flat and listings rising, last year's prices may overstate current value.
• Building insurance and the deductible. Insurance costs for many Quebec syndicates have risen in recent years, and owners may be responsible for part of a large deductible after water damage.

A notary handles the transaction in Quebec, and many buyers also hire a building inspector and, for older buildings, ask for the syndicate's maintenance logbook before making an offer firm.

Laval, Longueuil and the suburban condo market

Off the Island, condo prices are still rising slightly. Centris's third-quarter 2026 figures put the median condo price in Laval at $439,999, up 3%, and in Longueuil's Saint-Hubert sector at $395,000, also up 3%. Both are well below the Island median of $477,000, which makes them the main option for buyers priced out of the city.

One possible reason is that suburban condos draw more first-time buyers and families, who are less sensitive to investor economics than buyers of small downtown units. That may be why they are holding up better than the Island, where condo stock includes more small downtown units. It is the reverse of Toronto and Vancouver, where suburban condos have fallen faster than those in the core.

For buyers, the trade-off is the commute against the price. A Laval condo at the median costs about $37,000 less than the Island median, and a Saint-Hubert condo about $82,000 less. Our Laval and Longueuil pages show local rents and income figures with their sources.

What Montreal's last condo dip says about this one

Montreal condos have pulled back once before in this cycle, and the recovery is a useful guide. The CREA apartment benchmark for Greater Montreal peaked at $396,400 in March 2022, as the Bank of Canada began raising rates. It fell 5.4% to $375,000 by September 2022. It then climbed back to $387,600 by September 2023 and $405,600 by March 2024, passing the old peak about two years after it was set.

The current pullback started from a higher level. The benchmark reached $446,700 in June 2026 and was $427,900 by September, a 4.2% drop in three months. That is a faster decline than the 2022 dip, which took six months to fall 5.4%, though it is still small in absolute terms.

What is different this time is the sales and listings backdrop. In 2022 the dip followed the first jump in interest rates. In 2026 Island condo listings are up 12% and sales are down 15%, so the market has more supply to absorb. If the pattern from 2022 repeats, Montreal condos could recover within two years. If listings keep building, the recovery could take longer, and the June 2026 peak could stand for some time.

The income a Montreal condo needs

At the Island condo median of $477,000 with 20% down, the mortgage is $381,600. At an illustrative 5.5% rate over 25 years the payment is about $2,329 a month. Uninsured borrowers qualify at the higher of 5.25% or the contract rate plus two points, here 7.5%, where the payment would be about $2,792. With housing payments capped near 32% of gross income, that needs roughly $105,000 of household income before condo fees, municipal and school taxes.

For the CMA apartment benchmark of $427,900, the same test gives a stress-test payment of about $2,504 and an income need of roughly $94,000. The Montreal area's 2023 median census family income was $107,640, so a typical family can qualify for a benchmark condo, but with little room once fees and taxes are added. That is a big change from 2016, when the apartment benchmark was $229,100.

Renting versus owning a Montreal condo

Montreal's low rents shape its condo market. CMHC's October 2025 Rental Market Survey put the average two-bedroom purpose-built rent in the City of Montreal at $1,348, with vacancy at 3.0%. Laval's average was $1,361 and Longueuil's $1,223. Quebec's rent rules limit how much rents on existing leases can rise each year, which keeps many sitting tenants well below current asking rents.

Compared with the cost of owning, that rent is cheap. At the Greater Montreal apartment benchmark of $427,900, a buyer with 20% down borrows $342,320. Over 25 years the payment is about $1,895 a month at an illustrative 4.5% rate and about $2,089 at 5.5%. At the Island condo median of $477,000, the payments are about $2,112 and $2,329. Condo fees, municipal and school taxes, and insurance come on top.

So a Montreal renter paying the average two-bedroom rent would pay roughly $550 to $1,000 a month more to own a comparable condo, before fees and taxes. Ownership still builds equity, but the monthly premium is real. For an investor, the same gap means a typical Montreal condo bought today and rented at the average would not cover its mortgage. Our rent vs buy calculator lets you run your own numbers.

Montreal condo affordability on local incomes

Montreal remains far more affordable than Toronto or Vancouver relative to local incomes. The median census family income in the Montreal metro area was $107,640 in 2023, according to Statistics Canada. The Island condo median of $477,000 is about 4.4 times that income, and the CMA apartment benchmark about 4.0 times. In Greater Vancouver the apartment benchmark is about 6.3 times the area's family median, and in Toronto about 5.1 times.

On our reading, that affordability is a large part of why Montreal condos kept rising when Toronto's fell. Many Montreal buyers can qualify for a condo on one or two incomes without the extreme stretch required in Toronto or Vancouver. But the gap has narrowed: the apartment benchmark rose 52% from September 2019 to September 2026.

For the full city picture, see the Montreal affordability page, which lists the source of each price, income and rent figure.

What to watch in the Montreal condo market

CREA's October 2026 forecast expects Quebec's average sale price to rise 4.0% in 2026 and 1.0% in 2027, with sales down 5.1% this year and up 2.7% next. That is for all home types across the province. For Montreal condos, the third-quarter figures suggest prices are more likely to stay flat than to rise.

• Listings. The 12% rise in active condo listings is the clearest warning sign. If it continues into 2027 while sales stay low, the median will come under pressure.
• Days on market. At 67 days, Island condos are taking longer to sell. A further rise would confirm buyers are taking their time.
• Rates. Montreal buyers are less stretched than those in Toronto or Vancouver, but the steady price gains since 2022 mean recent buyers are borrowing more relative to income. The Bank of Canada raised rates to 2.50% on October 28, 2026, and its next decision is December 9.
• The suburbs. If Laval and Longueuil condo prices start to slip, it would suggest the slowdown has moved from the Island to the wider region.

For now, Montreal's condo market is cooling rather than correcting. It is the most resilient big-city condo market in Canada, but it is no longer rising, and the balance between buyers and sellers is shifting. Buyers have more choice and time than they did in 2025. For the citywide outlook, see the Montreal housing market forecast, and for the province, the Quebec housing market forecast.