Waterfront · 34 regions and cities · Centris 2018-2026
One page per region and per city, same definitions, same source: the median price of a house bordered by a body of water per year since 2018, against all houses, the waterfront premium and the share of waterfront sales.
Across Quebec, the house bordered by a body of water sells for $510,000 at the median in 2026 (January to September), versus $510,000 for all single-family homes: 0%. The premium only exists locally: 20% at the median of the 34 regions and cities tracked, above 50% in 8 of them and negative in 5, where the waterfront is mostly cottages. Since 2018: waterfront +117%, all houses +104%; 6.9% of single-family homes sold are waterfront. Source: Centris (Matrix), compiled on October 17, 2026.
Among all single-family homes sold on Centris, the house bordered by a body of water (lake, river, the St. Lawrence, pond, canal, sea, reservoir or stream) sells for $510,000 at the median from January to September 2026, and the median house of all kinds $510,000. At the scale of the province, the waterfront therefore costs no more: it mixes the waterfront property of Laval or Montreal, above the million, with the lake cottage of the Laurentians or the Outaouais, sold below the price of a suburban house. The premium is local.
| Year | Waterfront, median price | Sales | All houses, median price | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $235,000 | 2,760 | $250,000 | -6% |
| 2019 | $240,000 | 4,131 | $260,000 | -8% |
| 2020 | $290,500 | 6,561 | $295,000 | -2% |
| 2021 | $370,000 | 5,103 | $362,000 | +2% |
| 2022 | $410,000 | 3,796 | $414,000 | -1% |
| 2023 | $410,000 | 3,466 | $415,000 | -1% |
| 2024 | $449,950 | 4,311 | $449,000 | 0% |
| 2025 | $489,000 | 4,787 | $490,000 | 0% |
| 2026 (Jan. to Sept.) | $510,000 | 3,496 | $510,000 | 0% |
Single-family homes sold on Centris from January to September 2026: median sale price of houses bordered by a body of water, number of waterfront sales, median price of all houses, waterfront premium, change since the first publishable year (2018 in most cases) for both series, and waterfront share of sales since 2018. Regions and cities are mixed in the ranking; a region contains its cities.
| Region or city | Waterfront 2026 | Sales | All houses 2026 | Premium | Waterfront change | All houses change | Waterfront share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sorel-Tracy | $690,000 | 11 | $386,000 | +79% | +123% | +141% | 3.2% |
| Magog | $1,035,000 | 23 | $594,500 | +74% | +76% | +157% | 9.9% |
| Montreal | $1,289,000 | 33 | $750,000 | +72% | +22% | +73% | 1.2% |
| Island of Montreal (region) | $1,375,000 | 46 | $820,000 | +68% | +17% | +71% | 1.1% |
| Val-d'Or | $625,000 | 13 | $393,000 | +59% | +119% | +67% | 8.3% |
| Estrie (region) | $740,000 | 303 | $475,500 | +56% | +140% | +133% | 8.6% |
| Sherbrooke | $695,000 | 25 | $457,000 | +52% | +70% | +131% | 2.5% |
| Drummondville | $645,000 | 18 | $429,900 | +50% | +194% | +142% | 3.3% |
| Terrebonne | $830,000 | 11 | $595,500 | +39% | +102% | +113% | 1.6% |
| Trois-Rivières | $562,000 | 13 | $405,000 | +39% | +163% | +161% | 2.2% |
| Laval | $875,000 | 42 | $632,250 | +38% | +83% | +90% | 1.9% |
| Sainte-Adèle | $732,500 | 18 | $552,500 | +33% | +164% | +148% | 10.1% |
| Repentigny | $760,000 | 15 | $589,000 | +29% | +96% | +110% | 2.9% |
| Saguenay | $462,500 | 48 | $366,000 | +26% | +149% | +109% | 5.2% |
| Lévis | $547,500 | 18 | $444,900 | +23% | +57% | +85% | 2.9% |
| Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (region) | $413,750 | 156 | $337,000 | +23% | +148% | +111% | 9.6% |
| Gatineau | $595,000 | 14 | $489,500 | +22% | +93% | +100% | 1.0% |
| Chaudière-Appalaches (region) | $422,500 | 182 | $360,000 | +17% | +124% | +105% | 6.1% |
| Centre-du-Québec (region) | $435,000 | 102 | $375,000 | +16% | +233% | +144% | 5.9% |
| Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu | $670,000 | 29 | $577,000 | +16% | +117% | +126% | 3.4% |
| Mauricie (region) | $415,000 | 169 | $360,000 | +15% | +137% | +165% | 10.2% |
| Quebec City | $545,000 | 29 | $480,000 | +14% | +87% | +90% | 1.3% |
| Bas-Saint-Laurent (region) | $327,000 | 129 | $295,000 | +11% | +204% | +111% | 8.2% |
| Rouyn-Noranda | $400,000 | 35 | $372,000 | +8% | +78% | +65% | 11.2% |
| Capitale-Nationale (region) | $493,750 | 203 | $468,000 | +6% | +86% | +89% | 4.2% |
| Montérégie (region) | $625,000 | 419 | $590,000 | +6% | +101% | +107% | 3.8% |
| Abitibi-Témiscamingue (region) | $345,000 | 132 | $330,000 | +5% | +53% | +69% | 12.6% |
| Saint-Jérôme | $570,000 | 13 | $545,000 | +5% | +148% | +142% | 2.1% |
| Côte-Nord (region) | $241,000 | 16 | $239,000 | +1% | +30% | +76% | 5.8% |
| Lanaudière (region) | $510,000 | 466 | $520,000 | -2% | +132% | +121% | 9.9% |
| Saint-Hyacinthe | $490,000 | 15 | $502,500 | -2% | +92% | +118% | 4.0% |
| Laurentides (region) | $550,000 | 731 | $575,000 | -4% | +129% | +130% | 12.1% |
| Saint-Zotique | $541,000 | 20 | $564,500 | -4% | +18% | +139% | 16.9% |
| Outaouais (region) | $450,000 | 359 | $475,000 | -5% | +111% | +101% | 11.3% |
The waterfront costs the most where it is rare and urban: Sorel-Tracy (+79%), Magog (+74%), Montreal (+72%). There, the waterfront house is a prestige property on the river or a lake, and the rest of the market is made of city houses. It costs the least, and sometimes less than the median house, in vacation regions: Laurentides (-4%), Saint-Zotique (-4%), Outaouais (-5%). There, the waterfront is first of all cottages, smaller, often three-season, and the waterfront median falls below that of the suburban house.
The weight of the waterfront in sales tells the same geography: Saint-Zotique (16.9%), Abitibi-Témiscamingue (12.6%), Laurentides (12.1%) at the top, versus 5% at the median. Since 2018, the waterfront rose faster than the rest in 14 regions and cities out of 34; the strongest waterfront increases: Centre-du-Québec (+233%), Bas-Saint-Laurent (+204%), Drummondville (+194%). The premium grew in 14 regions and cities and narrowed elsewhere: the market first caught up with the ordinary house, then waterfront houses pulled ahead again in lake regions.
Waterfront is the Centris listing field "Type plan d'eau - bordé": the lot touches a lake, a river, the St. Lawrence, a pond, a canal, the sea, a reservoir or a stream. A stream counts as much as a lake, and a view without frontage does not count. The premium compares two medians of the same year in the same place: it measures the typical waterfront house against the typical house, not the value of the water for a given house. A 70% premium says the waterfront houses sold are larger, newer and on bigger lots than the others; a negative premium says mostly cottages sell there. Fewer than 10 waterfront sales in a year: median not published.
All series come from the Statistics module of Centris (Matrix), queried on October 17, 2026 with the same parameters for each region and each city: single-family category, criterion "Type plan d'eau - bordé" with all types checked, then the same query without the criterion; median sale price and number of sales per year over ten years. The field has been filled in on listings only since 2018: the series start there, and 2026 stops in September. We publish a region or a city when it has at least 90 waterfront sales since 2018 and at least 6 years with 10 sales or more; 34 units out of 57 queried pass the threshold. Aggregates only, no invented figures. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Our other data series, all built from Centris listings:
Each series is recalculated from actual sales or leases, city by city, aggregates only.
Because in the Laurentians, the Outaouais or Lanaudière, the typical waterfront house is a cottage: smaller, sometimes three-season, far from services. Its median falls below that of the suburban house of the same region, which is larger and newer. The water has value, but the house that comes with it has less. Conversely, in Montreal or Laval, the shore is rare and built with large properties: the premium exceeds 70%.
The premium in the table is a market average, not an appraisal. For a given house, what matters is the width of the frontage, the depth and quality of the water, the orientation, the protected shoreline buffer, flood exposure, year-round access, the condition of the well and septic system. Two waterfront houses at the same price can be very different: a broker from the team compares yours with recent waterfront sales in your area, no obligation.
We publish the regions and cities where waterfront sales are numerous enough for a reliable median. A broker from the team can pull the same statistics for any municipality or any lake in Quebec.
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.
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.