The city is recording increasing housing prices and a boom in housing starts even while other markets like Toronto and Vancouver trend in the opposite direction
Sales activity and average prices in major Canadian cities like Toronto and Vancouver point to a market downturn – but Montreal’s stats are trending in the opposite direction.
Compared to the first quarter of 2024, the average price of a home in Montreal is up 7.9%, contrasting sharply with a decline in Toronto and Vancouver of 4.1% and 5.9% respectively.
Why is Montreal’s market continuing to climb while others falter? According to experts, there are many factors that make up a strong market.
“If there's one thing the Greater Montreal real estate market has always shown us its strong resilience in the face of economic uncertainty,” Rola Hamdan (pictured top), a mortgage broker with Dominion Lending Centres (DLC) and real estate agent in the city, told Canadian Mortgage Professional. For Hamdan, the market's resiliency comes from many small details that add up to create the market as it stands today.
One of the driving forces, she said, is affordability. “Historically a 20-year-old, or 22-year-old person was able with $5,000 to buy a duplex or triplex,” she said. While this is no longer possible and the price gap between Montreal and Toronto is closing, it is still large enough to have a noticeable impact.
Huge price gaps mean opportunity for Montreal buyers, challenges elsewhere
The average home in Vancouver or Toronto sits at just over $1 million compared to an average home in Montreal which is only $625,026. “The gap is still very big between the average price in Toronto and the average price in Montreal,” said Hamdan.
Karn Toor of BlueShore Financial says life doesn’t pause for economic uncertainty. With GTA and Vancouver sales falling, buyers needing to upsize are still moving forward. Long-term, he believes homeownership remains a strong investment. https://t.co/cftoAZ9l2w
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) May 8, 2025
Despite the economic uncertainty surrounding housing and US president Donald Trump’s recent tariffs, Hamdan's clients are still eager to purchase a house. “People are fed up waiting for what's going to happen on the international and national level,” she said. “It's just the feeling that nobody wants to wait. They waited so long for the interest rate to go down.”
Differences between Quebec and rest of Canada also play a part
Hamdan also noted that Quebec's unique culture lends itself to real estate strength.
Many of her clients have loyalty to their neighbourhoods – something she does not see much in other places. “They get attached to the coffee shops. There is a life in every neighbourhood and people, when they choose it, choose it for that certain reason, and they stick to it.”
Even if they are looking to downsize and the neighbourhood next door is cheaper, they will pay "top dollar” to stay, Hamdan said.
In Quebec the primary way of building wealth is still seen as investing in real estate compared to other stocks. “It's ingrained in much of their thinking,” she said. “Their grandparents have done that, and young population do that.”
Mosh Lander, a professor of economics at Concordia University, says that the contrast in recent statistics may simply come down to Montreal being on a similar path to other major cities, just a few steps back.
He compares the two economies to climbing a mountain – and the difference has become more pronounced now that Toronto’s housing market has taken a downturn. “As long as we're both going up, it doesn't matter that you're a few steps behind me, but you really notice it if you're a few steps behind me if I've gone over the peak,” he told CMP.
He says that Montreal is facing heavy demand and a constrained supply, but this relationship could flip, ultimately leading to a market more similar to those seen in Toronto or Vancouver.
“On this run of the business cycle, especially with tariffs and all of the supply chain disruptions, if you find that that demand is dried up, then you really could see a turn in the market here,” he said.
However, as Hamdan notes, the future is anyone's guess, and even economists can only speculate. Her view from the ground working with clients in the capacity as a realtor and a broker provides a bright outlook. “I'm not particularly nervous about Montreal estate market.” she said. “Only time will tell.”
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