Real estate professionals gathered at Montréal’s Palais des Congrès on Wednesday to address critical challenges facing the multifamily sector, from financing strategies to regional expansion opportunities.
With market uncertainty surrounding costs and persistent housing shortages, industry leaders shared practical insights on maintaining growth while adapting to evolving market pressures in Québec’s residential real estate sector.
Here are Green Street News’ key takeaways from the Québec Apartment Investment Conference.
Strategic planning essential amid uncertainty
“When you don’t know where you are going, the road leads to nowhere,” Hugo Girard-Beauchamp, founder and president of Maître Carré, told attendees, setting the tone for discussions about strategic planning in uncertain times.
Industry leaders emphasized that successful navigation of market conditions requires comprehensive, forward-looking strategies that account for multiple scenarios, particularly as the sector faces concurrent challenges in financing and construction costs.
Financing landscape shows signs of evolution
The construction financing landscape appears to be transforming, with alternative lenders becoming increasingly flexible in their approach to residential projects.
“The recipe hasn’t changed, but the lenders have become more creative,” said Nadine Lehoux, regional vice-president for Québec at Equitable Bank, pointing to the trend of private construction loans transitioning to CMHC financing following successful rental absorption.
Tommy Archambault, president and founder of Levier Real Estate Agency, highlighted that CMHC loans have become more approachable due to clearer exit strategies, leading to less hesitation from lenders.
Consumer demographics signal market shift
Jacques Nantel, professor emeritus at HEC Montréal, presented compelling data illustrating that essential expenses — including housing, transportation and supplies — have increased from 60% of household income to 71%. The under-35 demographic has been particularly affected, having experienced unprecedented difficulty in producing down payments since 2022.
“For the first time, we’re seeing this age group struggle to produce down payments while buyers over 65 have become unusually active in the market, primarily through refinancing,” Nantel said. Carl Dumont, president of Groupe Dumont, said to Green Street News, “We’ve reached the height of [tenants’] capacity of payment. Last year we had a margin, whereas this year the rental teams need to be held on a tight leash.”
François Pelchat, partner and vice president of development, leasing and marketing at Immostar, emphasized the essential nature of residential real estate: “Consumer behavior will adapt to rising rent costs — they will and must go up. Instead of one car, they may have to share one per family. While rent increases are necessary as maintenance and development costs rise, we prefer keeping increases limited for existing tenants — we’d rather keep them long term.”
Regional markets show divergent trends
Development activity is increasingly shifting beyond Montréal and Québec City’s core areas. Jacob Hayon, executive vice president at JLL Montréal, told Green Street News that institutional investors are recycling old product to freshen inventory while private investors continue to renovate older properties.
“Development is picking up mainly on the North Shore and South Shore of the Greater Montréal Area, where there’s less red tape outside the city center,” Hayon said.
Sebastien Gatti, principal and executive vice president at Avison Young, highlighted a stark contrast between markets: “Montréal continues to attract international investment, while Québec City remains predominantly driven by local private buyers.”
Eric DesRoches, entrepreneur and real estate investor at Fabelta, spoke to Green Street News about the importance of collaboration. “Lacking a common vision limits advancement between the different actors,” he said. “When all actors sit at the same table — developers, the city and builders — there will be a much smoother transition to success in the face of challenge.”
Regional success stories emerge
Drummondville, like Saguenay, has emerged as a model for efficient development, achieving permit delivery times of 14 days compared to Montréal’s 580 days. Stéphane L’Espérance, president of Construgep, emphasized that “densification isn’t just a trend, it’s a necessity.”
However, Thierry Samlal, executive vice-president at PMML, raised concerns about future development patterns. “The 300,000 housing units needed [in Canada by 2026] may very well end up in low-transport areas, creating pockets of small ‘all-encompassing’ villages rather than interconnected cities linked to major transport hubs,” he explained.
Trump tariffs create market uncertainty
The impact of potential Trump tariffs has generated diverse perspectives within the industry. Laurence Vincent, president of Prével, expressed significant concerns about construction costs. “Labor accounts for 50% of our construction costs,” he said. “An 18% increase in labor translates to a 9% overall project cost increase. We have to face this upcoming possibility, we can’t bury our heads in the sand.”
Mathieu Collette, partner and vice president of real estate at Kastello Real Estate, projected a more moderate outlook: “Trump’s tariffs could affect certain materials significantly, while others like wood and cement should remain relatively stable. We’re looking at a 3-4% overall cost increase.”
Looking ahead
Market participants agreed that although regional development might offer some relief to the housing shortage, careful planning is needed to avoid creating disconnected communities.
Nantel’s research suggests solutions may lie in diversified offerings, including co-habitation and increased social housing development, noting that Canada significantly lags behind comparable regions in social housing provision.
