In January 2026, every third real estate transaction in the Quebec City region closed above the asking price. Young people want to buy housing — but the market isn’t playing by their rules.
Imagine this: you found a house. You saved up for a down payment. You gathered the documents. You submitted an offer — and you lost. Because there turned out to be forty-five others just like you. And one of them offered sixty thousand dollars more than the asking price.
This isn’t an exception. It’s the new norm in Quebec’s real estate market.
According to data obtained by Noovo Info, in January 2026 about a third of all transactions in the Greater Quebec City region were completed in surenchère mode — meaning the buyer paid more than the seller asked. In the city itself, this happened in 31% of cases, on the South Shore — in 28%, in the northern suburbs — in 21%.
The overbids are not symbolic. For a single-family home, buyers overpaid an average of $60,000 above the asking price. For a condominium — $37,000. For a small income property with two to eight units — nearly $100,000.
Everyone wants it. Not everyone can.
A survey conducted by Léger on behalf of the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (APCIQ) exposes a painful contradiction. Among young Quebecers aged 18 to 34, 43% say they intend to buy a home within the next five years. The intention is there for almost half. But reality is far more modest: over the previous five years, only one in three of those who also planned to actually bought a home.
The gap between desire and ability is neither coincidence nor laziness. It’s a structural problem that has been building for years.
“We’re seeing an increasingly pronounced gap among young adults between the desire to buy and the real ability to act,” explains Charles Brant, APCIQ’s director of market analysis. “It’s not a lack of interest. It’s a question of affordability.”
In 2025, young Quebecers aged 18 to 34 paid an average of $392,000 for housing — $36,000 more than the year before. That’s the largest increase among all age groups. To keep up with the market, young people are increasingly taking out larger loans, buying jointly with friends or relatives, asking family for financial help — or simply postponing the purchase indefinitely.
A seller’s market — for the long haul
The overall picture across the province remains discouraging for buyers. The average home price in Quebec in 2025 was $485,000 — $28,000 more than in 2024. Quebec City has held, for the second year in a row, the status of the Canadian city with the fastest growth in house prices.
At the same time, the market remains firmly on the sellers’ side. Only 14% of homeowners plan to sell within the next five years — and more than half of them are ready to postpone the sale if they don’t find a suitable alternative. A vicious circle: sellers don’t come to market because they themselves can’t find housing. Buyers can’t buy because there are too few listings.
“The resale market has shown remarkable resilience since 2020,” notes Charles Brant. “Quebecers continue to make long-term plans, but now they do so more cautiously.”
Among those over 55, there are already more sellers than buyers: 13% are ready to sell, and only 9% — to buy. This is the only age group where such a balance has formed. For everyone else — and especially for the young — demand still outpaces supply.
The price of a dream
An interesting detail: despite everything, young Quebecers in Quebec City own homes more often than their peers in Montreal — 44% versus 35%. The provincial capital has historically been more affordable. But that very affordability is now attracting more and more buyers — and destroying itself.
Overall across the province, the homeownership rate remains one of the lowest in Canada. This isn’t a market fluke — it’s a signal that requires a policy-level response.
“The market is becoming less and less accessible for younger generations,” says Simon Lajeunesse, APCIQ’s director of government relations. “The Government of Quebec and municipalities must create conditions that will make access to housing easier and faster for young families.”
For now, those conditions don’t exist. There is a market where 46 people fight for one house. There are young people with savings, plans, and intentions — who lose this fight again and again. And there is the figure of $60,000 above the price — the very amount you have to find somewhere just to be first in line.
The dream of owning a home in Quebec hasn’t gone anywhere. It has simply become significantly more expensive.
