Selling in 2026: Pricing Your Home Against Rising Inventory

Inventory is climbing in Quebec: in the Montreal area it is up about 17% year over year, an eleventh consecutive month of gains. More properties competing means the balance of power is tilting toward buyers. In this context, the right asking price is no longer a detail: it is the decisive factor. For the Montreal market figures, see our analysis of Montreal real estate statistics for June 2026.

More inventory, more competition

For years, scarce supply let optimistic prices find buyers: the buyer had few options and often had to bid up. That era is fading. With inventory rising steadily, buyers regain choice, take their time and compare. Concretely, your property is no longer alone: it competes directly with others, similar, in the same sector. The asking price becomes the buyer's first filter, even before the showing.

The first weeks decide everything

A property is never as visible as when it first lists. Active buyers, those who have been searching for weeks, discover it immediately and compare it to the rest. That is the peak of attention. A fair price from day one turns that peak into showings and offers. Too high a price wastes it: the property is set aside at once, the initial interest dissipates, and the seller ends up chasing a market they could have captured from the start.

The trap of chasing the market down

This is the most costly mistake. The scenario is familiar: list high "to test it," nothing moves, cut a little, still a notch above the real market. Repeat. Each time, the cut arrives too late and stays insufficient. Meanwhile, the property piles up days on market and becomes, in buyers' eyes, a home "that will not sell." The frequent result: a final sale price below what a fair initial price would have achieved, after months of needless stress. Chasing the market down almost always costs more than getting ahead of it.

The method: start from closed sales

The right price is not guessed; it is calculated. The basis is constant: recent comparable sales of the same sector and property type, adjusted for real differences (size, condition, renovations, precise location). Mind the essential nuance: it is the closed sale prices that count, not the asking prices of competing unsold listings, which are often overvalued. A listing built on real transactions reflects what buyers truly pay, where an impression or a wish leads straight into the overpricing trap.

Price, the only lever the seller controls

The seller controls neither rates, nor inventory, nor buyer confidence. They control two things: the quality of the listing and the asking price. In a market where supply is building, waiting for an inventory reversal is an uncertain bet, while a life plan (a move, a next purchase) often requires acting. Setting the fair price from the start, anchored to recent comparables, is the decision that captures available demand rather than letting it flow to a better-positioned property.