Asking “is the market a buyer's or seller's?” as if a single market existed is misleading. In reality, the balance of power reads segment by segment. The tool to do it: the ratio between the pace of sales and that of listings. For a neighbouring indicator, months of inventory, see our analysis of the shift toward a balanced market. Here, we read the map of forces by type, directionally.
1. Reading the Sales-to-Listings Ratio
The principle is simple, no precise figure needed. When sales rise against limited supply, demand dominates and the market favours the seller. When sales slow while listings swell, the buyer regains the upper hand: more choice, more time, more room. It is that direction — what rises, what falls — that reveals the balance of power, well before an exact percentage.
2. Downtown Montreal Condos: Leaning Buyer
This is the most buyer-friendly segment. In May 2026, downtown Montreal condos are described as a buyer's market: sales down (-8%), a selling time around 47 days and rising listings (+14% across the CMA). Weakening sales plus growing supply: the ratio tips to the buyer's side. In practice, they can compare, take their time and negotiate.
3. Single-Family, Montreal and Province: Still Seller
Single-family homes tell the opposite story. In May 2026, they sold in 30 days in the Montreal CMA, with rising prices (+3%), and the provincial median reached $524,900 (+5%). Demand stays strong and absorbs supply faster than condos do. The ratio therefore still leans seller on this segment — provided, as always, the starting price is aligned with comparables.
4. Quebec City Plexes: Strongly Seller
This is the opposite extreme of the Montreal condo. In the Quebec City CMA, plex sales jumped 15%in May 2026 and the median price reached a peak of $575,000. Sales and prices rising together: the signature of demand outstripping supply. On this segment, the balance is clearly on the seller's side: the buyer has little room and must be ready to move fast.
5. The Lesson: Match Your Stance to the Segment
A single “state of the market” does not exist: there are as many balances of power as there are type-by-region pairs. A Montreal condo buyer and a Quebec City plex buyer are not playing the same game. The right approach: identify where your segment sits on the buyer-seller axis, then calibrate price, patience and negotiation accordingly. The market's general headline is never a good guide for a specific decision.