Analysis · October 2026
The October 2026 market: sales drop sharply, single-family prices hold
A fourth straight month of rising supply in all four regions — from 12% in Montréal to 27% in Montérégie — but the increase is no longer accelerating. Sales, meanwhile, are down sharply everywhere, from 13% in the Laurentides to 19% in Montréal, and dollar volume follows. Even so, single-family median prices rise in three regions out of four; only Montréal retreats. Condominiums adjust through selling times, and the luxury segment holds up better than the market as a whole.
Vincent ChaputReal Estate Broker and Senior Vice-President, Sales
Published November 6, 2026 · Updated November 6, 2026
The market at a glance
October marks a change of pace. Active listings are still growing — up 16% in Estrie, 19% in the Laurentides, 27% in Montérégie and 12% in Montréal compared with October 2025 — but the increases are no longer accelerating: they are comparable to September's, and even smaller in Montréal and Montérégie. New listings, for their part, are flat or down in all four regions. Supply is no longer growing because sellers are flooding in; it is growing because sales are slowing.
And they are slowing hard: −15% in Estrie, −13% in the Laurentides, −16% in Montérégie, −19% in Montréal. In September, the decline ranged from 1% to 14%. Yet single-family median prices rise 2% in Estrie and Montérégie and 4% in the Laurentides; Montréal, at −5%, is the exception. The gap between falling sales and holding prices is the defining fact of the month. For a seller, it means fewer buyers, but buyers who still pay the price of a well-positioned property. For a buyer, it means wider choice without prices giving way.
| Region | Total sales | Active listings | Single-family | Condominium | Plex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estrie | 462 (−15%) | 2,771 (+16%) | $480,000 (+2%) | $331,125 (−6%) | $510,000 (+16%) |
| Laurentides | 824 (−13%) | 5,596 (+19%) | $565,500 (+4%) | $378,000 (−1%) | $685,000 (+10%) |
| Montérégie | 1,323 (−16%) | 7,702 (+27%) | $585,500 (+2%) | $390,000 (+1%) | $690,000 (−5%) |
| Montréal | 1,199 (−19%) | 11,176 (+12%) | $782,500 (−5%) | $497,500 (+2%) | $890,000 (−1%) |
Percentages show the change from October 2025. Prices are median prices.
Estrie: fewer sales, but a luxury segment that is speeding up
Estrie records 462 residential sales in October, down 15%, and $275M in sales volume, down 9%. After September's plateau, the decline is now clear. Active listings reach 2,771, up 16%.
Single-family counts 361 sales (−15%), but its median price climbs to $480,000 (+2%) and its average selling time falls to 48 days, four fewer than a year ago. The contrast comes from the upper bracket: in the $720,000-and-up range, 89 homes sold, up 17%, with an average of 64 days on the market — thirty-eight fewer than in October 2025. Coaticook and Sherbrooke post market-heat ratios of 75%, La Haute-Yamaska 71%. Memphrémagog, with a median of $715,000, remains the region's most expensive area.
Condominiums keep dropping off: 46 sales (−26%), a median of $331,125 (−6%), and an average selling time of 69 days, eight more than a year ago. Plexes go the other way: 47 sales (−10%), but a median of $510,000, up 16%, in 39 days.
In Estrie, the market is tightening at the bottom and coming alive at the top. A home at $720,000 and up sells more often and much faster than a year ago, in areas — Sherbrooke, Coaticook, Haute-Yamaska — that are still overheated. For a condominium seller, the asking price must reflect a median down 6% and a selling time that now exceeds two months.
Laurentides: the strongest price gains, the longest condominium wait
The Laurentides count 824 sales in October, down 13%, while active listings climb 19%, to 5,596. Sales volume reaches $510M, down 5% — the mildest pullback of the four regions.
Single-family posts the strongest price gain of the four regions: 623 sales (−11%), a median of $565,500 (+4%), an average of 47 days on the market. The $840,000-and-up bracket counts 104 sales, up 12%, with an average selling time of 67 days. Thérèse-De Blainville keeps the region's highest median, at $700,000, and its highest market-heat ratio, at 68%; Mirabel follows at $656,000.
Condominiums pull back sharply: 125 sales (−22%), a median of $378,000 (−1%) and an average selling time of 74 days, twenty more than a year ago. Plexes surprise: 75 sales (−11%), but a median of $685,000 (+10%) and an average of 30 days on the market, thirty-four fewer than in October 2025.
The Laurentides confirm the split observed since summer. A quality home, in the northern suburbs as in resort country, sells for more than last year, and the upper bracket is growing. Condominiums now call for two and a half months, and an asking price that accounts for 17% more listings.
Montérégie: 27% more supply, still-short selling times
Montérégie posts 1,323 residential sales in October, down 16%, and 7,702 active listings, up 27% — for a fourth consecutive month, the strongest supply growth of the four regions. Sales volume falls 15%, to $794M.
Median prices rise or hold: $585,500 for single-family (+2%), $390,000 for condominiums (+1%), and $690,000 for plexes (−5%). Single-family counts 915 sales (−15%) and an average of 39 days on the market, still the shortest of the four regions. In the $880,000-and-up bracket, 129 sales closed (−16%) in 55 days, all but unchanged from a year ago. Acton reaches a market-heat ratio of 79%; La Vallée-du-Richelieu and Longueuil post 67%, and Longueuil keeps the region's highest median, at $670,000.
Condominiums adjust through selling times: 300 sales (−23%), 2,125 active listings (+36%) and an average of 51 days, eight more than in October 2025. Plexes hold up in numbers — 103 sales, down only 4% — despite 38% more listings.
With more than a quarter more listings and 16% fewer sales, Montérégie is the market where the balance of power has shifted most in a year. And yet a well-positioned home still sells there in under six weeks, at a slightly higher price. The difference is decided before going to market: a prepared, correctly priced property stands out; the others join the 7,700 listings.
Montréal: the steepest drop, but a luxury home sells in 52 days
Montréal records 1,199 sales in October, down 19%, the steepest decline of the four regions. Active listings reach 11,176, up 12%, and sales volume falls 22%, to $921M. Median prices diverge: $782,500 for single-family (−5%), $497,500 for condominiums (+2%), $890,000 for plexes (−1%).
Single-family counts 360 sales (−15%), but its average selling time drops to 42 days, twelve fewer than a year ago. In the $1,170,000-and-up bracket, 95 sales closed (−12%) in 52 days on average — forty-nine fewer than in October 2025. The lower median partly reflects a shift in sales toward lower brackets rather than a retreat in luxury: exceptional properties that find a buyer do so in under two months.
Condominiums, with 604 sales (−21%) and 6,972 listings (+9%), see their average selling time reach 64 days, seven more than a year ago. In the $750,000-and-up bracket, sales fall 33%, to 93 transactions, but close in 60 days, nineteen fewer. Plexes, with 235 sales (−18%), hold a median of $890,000 on a stable 52-day selling time.
In Montréal, October is the month where volume gives way the most and where the luxury segment reacts the fastest. A home above $1.17M now sells in 52 days, against more than three months a year ago. Buyers in this segment are there, they decide quickly, and they do not come back to a property they set aside over price. For condominiums, the reverse: inventory approaching 7,000 units demands the right price from day one.
What October 2026 means for sellers
- Sales are down 13% to 19% depending on the region: there are fewer active buyers, but those who remain pay the price of a well-positioned property — single-family medians are up in three regions out of four.
- A well-positioned single-family home still sells in 39 to 48 days depending on the region; condominiums now take 51 to 74 days.
- In the upper bracket, selling times are collapsing in Montréal (−49 days) and Estrie (−38 days), and sales are rising in the Laurentides and Estrie: luxury is doing better than the overall market.
- Regional medians do not describe your area: market-heat ratios range from 47% to 79% from one RCM to the next.
What October 2026 means for buyers
- Choice remains the widest in three years, especially in Montérégie and the Laurentides, and competition among buyers has eased.
- Condominiums offer the most room to negotiate: sales down 21% to 26% and selling times up in all four regions.
- The most sought-after areas — Acton, Coaticook, Sherbrooke, Thérèse-De Blainville — still favour the seller; you need to decide quickly there.
- A calmer market is no excuse to skip due diligence: building condition, condominium finances, zoning and municipal context.
A luxury market that holds up better than the whole
In the highest single-family bracket defined by each report, sales rise in Estrie (+17%) and the Laurentides (+12%), and fall in Montérégie (−16%) and Montréal (−12%) — in both cases, no more than the market as a whole. Thresholds differ from one region to the next, so these variations are not directly comparable.
The common signal lies in selling times: 52 days in Montréal, forty-nine fewer than a year ago; 64 days in Estrie, thirty-eight fewer; 55 days in Montérégie, all but unchanged. In a month where total sales fall 13% to 19%, correctly positioned exceptional properties are selling as often, or more, and markedly faster. It confirms that a property's real scarcity — its land, its location, its quality — matters more than its region's cycle.
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Methodology and source
This analysis draws on a selection of October 2026 indicators produced by the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers from the Centris system. Changes are calculated against October 2025 unless otherwise stated.
The median price splits transactions into two equal groups; it does not represent the value of any particular property. Results should be interpreted with caution when transaction counts are low. Figures are rounded in line with the source reports.
Reports consulted (QPAREB, monthly residential statistics, October 2026, Centris data, accessed November 6, 2026): Montréal CMA; Montérégie region; Laurentides region; Estrie region. Regional reports are published on the QPAREB real estate statistics page. Scope: residential sales concluded during the month, all categories (single-family, condominium, 2-to-5-unit plexes).
Data source: QPAREB, Centris system. Analysis and interpretation: Vincent Chaput Team.