Montreal real estate forecast: How much you need to earn to buy a home in 2025

The Montreal housing market is poised for steady growth in 2025, with home prices expected to rise faster than the national average, a new report shows.

For anyone hoping to buy a home here, the real question is: How much income will you need to make it happen?

According to a recent report from Royal LePage, the aggregate price of a home in Greater Montreal is forecast to increase by 6.5% this year, reaching $655,082 by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Detached houses are set to climb even higher, with a 7.5% increase pushing their median price to $750,780. Condos, meanwhile, are expected to rise by 6%, bringing their median price to $507,210.

That puts Montreal slightly ahead of national growth projections, where the aggregate home price is expected to rise by 6% this year — although the average home in Canada is still projected to be about 30% more expensive than in Montreal, rising to $856,692 by the end of the year.

Montreal is also set to outpace Canada’s other big cities this year, with Toronto projected to grow by 5% and Vancouver by only 4% in the same period.

“The Greater Montreal real estate market recorded healthy growth in activity and prices in 2024 after 2023 was characterized by below-average transactions,” explains Marc Lefrançois, a Royal LePage real estate broker.

So, how much income do you need to afford a home in Montreal in 2025? Let’s crunch the numbers.

As a general rule, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recommends keeping your major housing costs — mortgage payments, property taxes, heating costs and condo fees — to no more than 32% of your before-tax income. We’ve made some calculations based on current mortgage conditions in Canada, including the Bank of Canada’s current five-year conventional interest rate of 6.45%, to figure out what household income you need to afford an average home in Montreal.

For a single-family detached house priced at $750,780:

• You’ll need a minimum down payment of $50,078 (5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the rest).
• Including the obligatory 4% CMHC insurance on a down payment of that size, your total mortgage would be $728,730.08. That means monthly payments of $4,859.14, assuming a 6.45% interest rate over 25 years.
• Factor in around $5,332.94 in annual property taxes and $1,597.92 in heating costs, and your total yearly expenses come to $65,240.54.
• To stay within CMHC’s guidelines, you’ll need a gross household income of $203,877 per year.

For a condo priced at $507,210:

• A down payment of $25,721 is the minimum.
• With 4% CMHC insurance added, your total mortgage would be $500,748.56, which comes out to monthly payments of $3,338.97.
• We’ve estimated around $2,040 a year in condo fees (based on 850 sq. ft. at $0.20/sq. ft.), while property taxes add about another $3,602.81, bringing total yearly expenses to $45,710.45.
• In order to keep that capped at 32% of your income, your household will need to make around $142,845 to comfortably afford this.

Montreal’s affordability is still relatively strong compared to other Canadian cities, but rising demand could push prices even higher.

The city is experiencing renewed interest from buyers, many of whom had previously moved to more remote areas during the pandemic, according to Lefrançois. At the same time, government programs aimed at helping first-time buyers are increasing demand without necessarily boosting supply, which adds upward pressure to prices.

With fewer new construction projects in the pipeline and more families looking to settle in or around the city, Royal LePage expects steady competition in the housing market throughout the year.