Buying · Foreclosures · Montreal
Montreal is the only region where the buyer leads in several sectors in 2026: the downtown towers and the high-end boroughs. That is where foreclosures appear and negotiate. Here is where to look, how the mechanics work and how to buy one without mistakes.
A foreclosure in Montreal follows the same mechanics as everywhere in Quebec: a 60-day prior notice in the land register, then taking in payment, a sale under judicial authority or a sale by the creditor, and a resale generally without legal warranty. On the island, they concentrate in the downtown condo towers of Ville-Marie, Griffintown and Île-des-Sœurs, where record listings, investor resales and 71 to 89 days on market have created a buyer's market, and in the high-end boroughs (NDG above $860,000, the centre above $1.22 million) where the buyer leads. The plex neighbourhoods (Villeray 28 days, Rosemont 29) and the affordable east (Montréal-Nord 24 days) sell too fast for a fairly priced foreclosure to stay long. The island's median house is $834,250 (41 days) and its condo $483,000 (54 days).
Montreal foreclosures appear on Centris with the mention "reprise de finance", and they concentrate in three places: the condo towers of Ville-Marie ($465,000, 89 days), Griffintown and the Sud-Ouest (903 listings, a balanced market between $250,000 and $760,000) and Île-des-Sœurs ($613,176, 75 days), where investors who bought off-plan from 2018 to 2022 resell into record inventory; the high-end houses of NDG, Westmount's surroundings and the centre above $1.22 million, where 9 to 15.9 months of inventory give the buyer time; and, more rarely, the converted condos of Lachine-LaSalle above $640,000 (15.9 months). In Villeray, Rosemont, Hochelaga and Montréal-Nord, a fairly priced foreclosure receives several offers the first weekend, like any home.
| Sector (QPAREB, Q2 2026) | House, median | 1 year | 5 years | Days | Condo, median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ville-Marie | n/a | n/a | -10 % | n/a days | $465,000 |
| Sud-Ouest, Griffintown | $1,050,000 | 11 % | 32 % | 31 days | $508,500 |
| Île-des-Sœurs | n/a | n/a | 10 % | n/a days | $613,176 |
| NDG, Montréal-Ouest | $1,247,000 | -5 % | 18 % | 49 days | $611,250 |
| Montréal-Nord | $525,000 | -6 % | 35 % | 24 days | n/a |
| Island of Montreal, all | $834,250 | 4% | 21 % | 41 days | $483,000 |
It all starts with a missed payment. The hypothecary creditor registers a prior notice of the exercise of a hypothecary right in the land register and, for a mainly residential immovable, must give the owner 60 days to remedy the default, sell on their own or refinance. Then come three recourses: taking in payment (the creditor becomes the owner and resells, hence the French term "reprise de finance"), the sale under judicial authority (the court authorizes the sale, the immovable is awarded at the buyer's risk, without legal warranty) and the sale by the creditor. The properties then come back on the market, often on Centris with the mention "reprise de finance", generally without legal warranty and without a detailed seller's declaration. The full mechanics, the risks and our free alert are on our page on foreclosures in Quebec.
The island's single-family home rose only 21 % in five years, the province's weakest rise, and its condo 19 %; downtown, the condo of Ville-Marie rose 3 % in five years, which means that an investor who bought off-plan in 2021 at rates below 2 % and renews in 2026 at rates around 4.24 % often owes more per month than the rent brings in, on a unit worth about what they paid. That is where the 60-day notices concentrate, and why the downtown towers are Montreal's foreclosure market in 2026 and 2027. In the plex neighbourhoods and the affordable boroughs, the owners have equity and sell on their own during the 60 days. For a buyer, the tower condo bought without warranty after reading the syndicate's documents is the real opportunity of the cycle.
In Montreal, across a sample of 500 single-family houses sold on Centris between September 16, 2025 and September 16, 2026, the median house sold for $982,500, in the most expensive third of the 52 cities we track, and found a buyer in 21 days (half of them between 6 and 65.8), slowly enough to leave time to compare and come back. 72% of sellers there accepted below the asking price, a clear majority, more than elsewhere, and their median discount reaches $39,900, or 3.8%: one of the most generous discounts in our survey.
For a foreclosure, sold without a seller's declaration or legal warranty, the reading is this: slow market and high discounts: this is the ground where a foreclosure can be negotiated head-on, with comparables to back it up; at this price level, a roof or a foundation to redo runs into tens of thousands of dollars, which the buyer absorbs alone without a legal warranty. The negotiation detail is in our page on negotiations in Montreal.
The median single-family home in Montreal went from $380,000 in 2016 to $755,000 in 2026 (+99%), with a decline in 2023, and the last year added +4.6% (full curve: home prices in Montreal from 2016 to 2026). Those who bought at the 2022 peak paid a median $652,000, at 2 to 3% rates they are now renewing higher, and it is worth 16% more: enough to sell on their own during the notice period if they run into trouble, which deprives creditors of files.
Between September 16, 2025 and September 16, 2026, 38% of the single-family listings that ended in Montreal were withdrawn, expired or cancelled without a sale (1,751 against 2,906 sales), one of the highest shares in our survey, and the withdrawn ones asked a median 5% more than the sold ones, a thin gap: here, unsold listings are not only explained by price. For an owner in difficulty, the risk is real of seeing the notice expire while an overpriced listing waits for a buyer; on the buyer's side, a property withdrawn and back on Centris marked "reprise de finance" has a price history, to ask for first (see the houses that do not sell in Montreal).
79% of the houses sold in Montreal in 12 months were built before 1980 and 27% had a pool: an old stock, where aluminum wiring, original foundation drain, cast-iron plumbing and a buried oil tank are to be looked for before any offer, and pools are common, and a foreclosure's pool, often drained or neglected, is inspected separately.
| In Montreal | Figure |
|---|---|
| Median sale price, 12 months | $982,500 |
| Median time to acceptance | 21 days |
| Sales closed below asking | 72% |
| Median discount when there is one | $39,900 (3.8%) |
| Listings withdrawn without a sale | 38% |
| Median price 2016 → 2026 | $380,000 → $755,000 |
Source: Centris (Matrix), Single-family form: sales and ended listings between September 16, 2025 and September 16, 2026 (compiled September 17 and 18, 2026) and the municipality's 2016-2026 annual statistics (compiled September 16, 2026). Aggregates only, compiled by the Loaa & Manseur team.
During the 60-day period, you can sell on your own, often at market price, and protect your equity. It is almost always the best outcome. Our team can schedule an urgent free valuation, without judgment and in full confidentiality.
Our other data series for Montreal, drawn from Centris listings:
Each page is recalculated from the past year's actual sales, aggregates only.
How many foreclosures in Montreal, ten years of perspective:
The number of houses sold as foreclosures year by year since 2016, their share of sales, their median price against all sales and the rebound from the trough in Montreal.
More than elsewhere for condos, in the downtown towers where record listings and 71 to 89 days on market have created a buyer's market; few for houses in the plex neighbourhoods and the east, which sell in under a month.
Yes for a tower condo, where the seller has waited two or three months and the buyer compares dozens of units: the negotiation is real, and the syndicate's documents (reserve fund, special assessments, rental ratio) decide whether it is a deal. Rarely for a house in Villeray or Montréal-Nord, which receives several offers.
Tell us the boroughs, the buildings and the budget; we set a free alert on the listings with the mention "reprise de finance" and on the prior notices we monitor, and we read the file (syndicate documents, certificate of location, inspection) with you before the offer. Service in English and French.
Also available in French: version française de ce guide.
Published September 7, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.
Quebec runs on civil law, so several French terms have no direct English equivalent: hypothèque is a hypothec and not a mortgage, vices cachés are latent defects, and the taxe de bienvenue is legally transfer duties. The full list is in our Quebec real estate glossary. See also this term explained.
Équipe no 1 de RE/MAX Platine en 2024 et en 2025, 6e au Québec, 15e au Canada et dans le top 50 mondial au classement officiel RE/MAX. Réponse en moins de 24 heures, sept jours sur sept.