Montreal July 2026: Sales Down 10%, Prices Still Rising

The Montreal metropolitan area recorded 3,338 sales in July 2026, against 3,709 in July 2025. That is a 10% year-over-year decline, the fifth consecutive monthly drop and the steepest since the start of 2026. And yet median prices rose in all three segments. This gap between volume and price is the defining fact of the month, and it calls for different decisions depending on whether you are selling or buying. The previous month had already set the tone: see our Montreal real estate statistics for June 2026.

The number of the month: 3,338 sales

QPAREB data released on August 6, 2026 puts July at 3,338 transactions for the Montreal metropolitan area, against 3,709 twelve months earlier. The 10% decline is not a one-month wobble: it is the fifth straight monthly drop, and QPAREB describes it as the steepest since the beginning of 2026. In other words, the trend is not fading, it is deepening. A seller comparing notes with a neighbour who sold in the first quarter is not comparing the same market.

Three segments, three speeds

The headline decline hides wide gaps. Single-family homes held up best: 1,852 sales, down only 4% year over year, with a median price of $650,000, up 4%. Condominiums took the hardest hit: 1,142 sales, down 17%, for a median of $431,500, up 2%. Plexes sit between the two on volume, with sales down 16%, yet they post the strongest price gain of the three: $865,000, up 6%.

Note the mechanics: the segment losing the most volume is not the one gaining the least on price. The condo loses 17% of its volume and still gains 2% on the median. The plex loses 16% and gains 6%. Volume and price are not two ways of measuring the same thing.

Why prices rise in a slowing market

Sales volume counts closed transactions. The median price measures what buyers actually agreed to pay for the properties that did sell. When part of the buyer pool steps back, the deals that still close are often the ones where motivation runs highest on both sides. The median therefore does not describe the whole market, it describes completed sales. That is precisely why a rising median says nothing about how easy it is to sell any given property.

What QPAREB points to as the cause

Helene Begin, senior economist at QPAREB, names two factors: a fragile economic context, and stricter immigration rules that are driving a population decline in Greater Montreal. That second point deserves a seller's attention, because it is not part of the rate cycle. A falling population means fewer households forming, therefore fewer potential buyers, whatever the cost of credit does next. It is a structural factor, not a passing hesitation.

What it changes for a seller

Inventory is up 17% year over year and 5,260 new listings were added in July, a 4% increase. In practice: more direct competition, in a market with fewer buyers. The rise in the regional median is a poor reference for setting an asking price, because it describes the properties that sold, not the ones still waiting. The right reference remains recent comparable sales of the same type in the same area. A price set correctly on day one costs far less than a reduction conceded after eight weeks on the market.

What it changes for a buyer

The balance of power has shifted, without flipping. With 5,260 new listings and inventory up 17%, choice genuinely widens and bidding-war pressure eases. But median prices are still climbing: this is not a market where a discount comes automatically. Room to negotiate is won property by property, on listings that have sat a long time or were mispriced from the start. Taking time to compare, requiring an inspection, setting your conditions: the current context allows all three far better than a year ago.