Cities in Quebec where you can still buy a house for under $200,000

The idea of buying a house in Montreal for less than $200,000 seems the stuff of pure fantasy as strong demand continues to keep prices high.

Lack of affordable housing is not unique to the city; Canada’s average national home price is $865,100, nearly 30% higher than in early 2020 and almost twice the US median.

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In a new study, Point2Homes analyzed where Canadians can find affordable housing. The site used $200,000, about a quarter of the national average price, as a budget benchmark.

In Quebec, the chances of finding an affordable home in a major city are better than provinces like BC and Ontario, but still slim. Point2Homes found that there were only 15 homes (o.31%) for sale under $200,000 in Montreal.

According to website, properties are cheaper in Québec City, which has the most affordable median home prices in the province at a little more than $331,000. In fact, nearly 10% of homes (about 240 properties) in that area are listed for less than $200,000.

Point2Homes

Less than 2% of houses in places like Longueuil, Gatineau, and Laval were under the benchmark. Alternatively, there were 29 cities across Ontario that had zero affordable homes for sale, including Richmond Hill, Markham, and Caledon.

“Only about 10% of all homes for sale in Canada are less than $200,000—and very few of them are in major cities, where median home prices are exploding,” the site said.

“However, the chance of finding a home for sale for less than $200,000 increases when zooming in on the most populous cities within a region.”

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Potential homebuyers who are willing to look at large cities in Atlantic Canada or the Prairies can “have their pick” of affordable listings.

At 44.20%, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, was the city with the highest share of homes for sale under $200,000. Regina, Saskatchewan, followed, with 36.50%.

“While $200,000 as the new affordability threshold might sound surreal to some, there are silver linings on the Canadian horizon,” Point2Homes said.

“The need for housing caused the national vacancy rate to fall for the first time in 20 years. More importantly, prices began to slow in the spring, with optimistic forecasts of further drops by the end of the year. Here’s hoping.”

With files from Daily Hive’s Zoe Demarco