Prices are still rising year over year, but mounting inventory and consecutive sales declines signal a meaningful shift in one of Canada's steadiest markets
Montreal's residential real estate market – long one of Canada's most stable – is showing unmistakable signs of a slowdown, with sales falling for the fifth consecutive month and inventory climbing to levels not seen in years.
According to the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB), 4,623 residential sales were recorded across the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in May 2026, a 7 per cent decline compared with May 2025. That followed a 7.5 per cent year-over-year drop in April, when 4,744 transactions were completed, according to data published by WOWA.ca. In both months, every property category – single-family homes, condominiums, and plexes – posted a decline.
The back-to-back contractions are drawing attention not just because of their size, but because of their source. Montreal spent much of the past two years defying the correction pressures that weighed on Toronto and Vancouver. That resilience now appears to be fading.
Supply building, condo market softening fastest
The supply picture has changed materially. Active listings across the Montreal CMA reached 21,073 in May 2026 – a 14 per cent increase compared with May 2025 and the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year inventory growth, according to QPAREB. In April, active listings stood at 20,959, up 14.9 per cent year over year, per WOWA.ca data.
The condominium segment is driving much of that accumulation. Condo inventory expanded 19 per cent year over year in May, outpacing single-family homes and plexes, which each rose roughly 9 per cent. In May, condo sales fell 8 per cent year over year – the steepest decline of any property type.
The impact on market conditions is already visible. In certain central neighbourhoods on the Island of Montreal, the condominium market has moved to balanced conditions. Downtown Montreal has tipped further – QPAREB characterises that submarket as one that now clearly favours buyers. The average time to sell a condo across greater Montreal extended to 47 days in May, up seven days from the prior year.
"The inventory of available condominiums is rising at a particularly rapid pace, especially on the Island of Montreal, as well as on both the North and South Shores, thereby easing pressure on prices," said Hélène Bégin, Senior Economist at QPAREB.
Labour market and demographics adding pressure
The explanation for the broader slowdown runs deeper than interest rates alone. Charles Brant, Market Analysis Director at QPAREB, pointed to two structural factors weighing on Montreal demand.
"The Greater Montreal unemployment rate rose sharply, from 6.3 per cent in January to 7.7 per cent in April, the highest level since the summer of 2016, excluding the pandemic," Brant noted. "This likely contributed to greater caution among buyers."
Demographic trends are compounding the effect. According to Statistics Canada data cited by QPAREB, the strong population growth Montreal experienced in recent years has given way to a slight decline – driven by restrictions on immigration flows. Montreal, along with Toronto and Vancouver, has been among the cities most exposed to the demographic reversal.
Taken together, Brant described these as a "deteriorating labour market and the shift in demographic trends" that have been weighing on the Montreal CMA resale market for several months.
Prices holding, but momentum slowing
Despite the sales contraction, prices have not reversed. WOWA.ca data shows the average home price in Montreal reached $674,943 in May 2026, up modestly from $667,465 in April. On a year-over-year basis, the single-family home median price rose 3 per cent in May, with plexes up 6 per cent and condominiums up 1 per cent.
Montreal's overall price gain of approximately 3.3 per cent year over year compares favourably with Toronto, where the average home price fell roughly 5 per cent over the same period, and Vancouver, which saw a 0.1 per cent decline, according to WOWA.ca. But the rate of appreciation is slowing, and condo price growth has nearly stalled.
The sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) for May 2026 came in at 61 per cent, according to WOWA.ca – sitting just within seller's market territory, but well down from the tighter conditions Montreal sustained through much of 2024 and into early 2025.
What brokers are watching
The Bank of Canada held its overnight rate at 2.25 per cent at its April 29, 2026 meeting – a move the central bank accompanied with cautions about ongoing uncertainty from U.S. trade policy and geopolitical conflict. For Canadian mortgage brokers advising clients in the Montreal and broader Quebec market, the current environment presents a nuanced picture: prices remain positive, but the conditions driving buyer hesitation are not simply rate-related.
Affordability remains a significant constraint even after the Bank of Canada's rate-cutting cycle. Labour market softness – with Quebec's urban unemployment now at a decade-high outside the pandemic – adds a layer of risk that rate reductions alone cannot offset. And the demographic slowdown, if sustained, reduces the demand ceiling that has historically underpinned Montreal's resilience relative to other major Canadian housing markets.
For now, sellers retain the advantage across most of the Montreal CMA, and monthly supply at 5.5 months remains within the range QPAREB classifies as a seller's market. But that advantage is narrowing, and the condo segment – particularly downtown – is already operating under different rules.
"For several months now, the residential real estate market in the Montreal CMA has been feeling the effects of a deteriorating labour market and the shift in demographic trends," said Brant. "It is not surprising that the Montreal CMA resale market is showing some signs of slowing."
Make sure to get all the latest news to your inbox on Canada’s mortgage and housing markets by signing up for our free daily newsletter here.
