The 1is July is upon us. The streets come alive, the moving trucks are increasing and the electros embark on rusty devils. A typically Quebecois painting, which has become over the decades of a ritual at the beginning of summer. But this tradition is crumbling!
Quebecers are moving less and less. And when they move, it’s less and less to dream!
In 2023, only 7.8% of Quebecers changed his address. They were 10.3% in 2019. In four years, residential mobility fell. The large waltz of cardboard boxes turns idling.
For what? Because moving, today is a luxury. Staying in your accommodation is not always a choice. It is often the only option.
Buy or rent? Same fight
Each year, the question comes back. Is it better to be the owner or a tenant? A former personal decision has become a corneal choice. In both cases, you have to tighten your belt.
In Montreal, the average monthly rent borders on $ 2000, according to Rentals.ca. Toronto? $ 2600. Vancouver? $ 2800. Prices disconnected from wage reality. A young professional sometimes pays half of his income in housing. And yet, the dream of becoming a owner persists. Tenacious. Unalterable.
According to Royal Lepage, 56% of Quebec tenants still want to buy. One in four hopes to do it within five years. But between dreams and reality, there is a chasm. And this chasm widens.
A $ 235,000 property, a paper boon, costs more than $ 2,500 per month, once mortgage, taxes and maintenance calculated. The National Bank is all at nearly $ 31,000 per year. And that is if we manage to find one. Because the inventory is exhausted.
Rarity
Rarer strikes everywhere. In May 2019, Quebec had more than 60,000 properties for sale. Today? Less than 38,000. The back -to -hand offer as snow in July. Each sign “for sale” becomes the object of lust.
This lack in the offer redraws the residential card of Quebec. The market imposes a new social geography.
From the pandemic, the big cities lose feathers. Montreal saw 40,000 of its inhabitants fold luggage in 2020. Destination? Sherbrooke, Quebec, Trois-Rivières … But above all, the small municipalities.
It was not just a pandemic whim. It is a heavy trend. For what? Because employment is good in the region. Because universities open satellite campuses. Because teleworking exists. And because there is sometimes less cost.
But even this desire for movement comes up against a wall. There are not enough accommodation, even in the region. The promoters are struggling to follow. The permits are long overdue. And the sites are increasing, without meeting urgent demand.
So we stay. We cling to what we have. Because in 2025, real luxury is no longer to be the owner. It is to have a roof and a little peace. It is stability. And the hope that the next increase is not that of the rent.
In the meantime, the boxes remain in the closet. And the keys, in the same entrance bowl.
