Montreal CMA, September 2026: Condos at 65 Days, Prices Flat

Your condo has been listed for six weeks and showings have thinned out, or you are viewing one and wondering how much room there is to negotiate. The September 2026 figures from the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB, known in French as APCIQ) for the Montreal census metropolitan area (CMA) give part of the answer. The median price did not move, but the time it takes to sell a condo grew by 17 days in a year. This article explains why a cooling market adjusts through selling time before price, and why condos carry most of that adjustment.

September 2026 in the Montreal CMA: the numbers

According to QPAREB's monthly statistics released in early October, the CMA recorded 3,082 sales in September, down 12% from 3,486 a year earlier. All three property types declined:

• Single-family homes: 1,649 sales (−9%), median price $635,000 (0%), 41 days to sell (+1 day);
• Condominiums: 1,081 sales (−14%), median price $430,000 (0%), 65 days to sell (+17 days);
• Plexes (small multi-unit buildings): 350 sales (−16%), median price $861,000 (+3%).

On the supply side, active listings reached 21,793, up 20%. QPAREB notes this is the 14th consecutive monthly increase and that inventory now sits 18% above its 10-year average. New listings for the month came to 7,494, up 7%.

Fewer sales, more inventory, prices unchanged

At September's sales pace, the 21,793 active listings represent roughly 7.1 months of sales. That is a simple calculation (listings divided by the month's sales) that gives an order of magnitude, not QPAREB's official inventory measure. It is enough to show that buyers have choice.

Despite that choice, median prices for single-family homes and condos are exactly where they were in September 2025. QPAREB says higher inventory is "easing pressure on prices". Easing is not reversing: upward pressure fades, but prices do not fall as a result.

Why the adjustment shows up in selling time first

Sellers set an asking price by looking at recent sales. When buyers thin out, they do not cut the price the next day: they wait for showings, then for an offer. So the market does not correct through price first. It corrects through how long each property takes to find a buyer.

The median price only measures properties that actually sold. Those that sell do so at prices close to last year's, and those that do not stay in inventory without affecting the median. That is how a market can slow sharply while reporting flat prices. Days on market move first; price follows, or not, depending on whether sellers eventually adjust.

Why condos absorb most of the slowdown

Selling time for a single-family home went from 40 to 41 days. For a condo it went from 48 to 65 days, an increase of about 35%. Condo sales also fell more (−14%) than single-family sales (−9%).

Part of the explanation is the product itself. In a given area, and often in the same building, several comparable condos are for sale at the same time. A buyer can compare them, wait, or move on to the next one. A single-family house is harder to swap for another, which gives buyers less room to hesitate. When supply rises across the market, competition between sellers bites hardest where the units are most interchangeable.

For condo sellers: carrying costs and asking price

Every extra day on the market has a cost: mortgage interest, condo fees, property taxes, insurance and utilities keep running. We worked through that carrying cost in detail in our article on what extra days on the market cost a condo seller. The same method applies at 65 days.

The asking price should be anchored to comparable condos that sold recently, not to those still listed. A price set against listings that are not selling puts the unit in the part of the inventory that is waiting.

For buyers: read your negotiating room in the days on market

A flat median does not mean there is nothing to negotiate. What tells a buyer more is how many days a specific condo has already spent on the market, compared with the CMA's 65-day median and with comparable sales nearby. A unit listed well beyond the median has a seller facing rising carrying costs. A newly listed, well-located and well-priced unit can still sell quickly. The reading is done listing by listing, using the listing history your broker can pull.