Bank of Canada Maintains the Policy Rate at 2.25%
A median-priced Montreal single-family home costs about $2,894 per month with the minimum down payment, or $2,357 per month with 20% down, at a 4% fixed rate over a 25-year amortization. Montreal buyers also face a welcome tax bill set by the city on its own scale, and a 9% provincial tax on the insurance premium that rises at the end of 2026.
The median price of a single-family home in the Montreal area was $560,000 in early 2026, according to the Association professionnelle des courtiers immobiliers du Québec, with the median condominium at $420,000 and the median plex at $855,000. At $560,000, the minimum down payment is $31,000, which is 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the remainder, leaving a $529,000 mortgage before insurance.
| Down payment | Mortgage after premium | 25-year payment | 30-year payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| $31,000 (minimum) | $550,160 | $2,894 | $2,616 |
| $56,000 (10%) | $519,624 | $2,733 | $2,471 |
| $84,000 (15%) | $489,328 | $2,574 | $2,327 |
| $112,000 (20%) | $448,000 | $2,357 | $2,130 |
Property type matters more here than in most Canadian cities because Montreal’s housing stock includes plexes. A median condominium at $420,000 needs a minimum down payment of $21,000 and carries a payment near $2,183, while a plex at $855,000 puts you in owner-occupied rental territory, where a lender will count part of the rental income toward qualifying. Enter your own purchase price above rather than working from a median.
Every Quebec municipality collects property transfer duties, known everywhere as the welcome tax. Most apply the provincial scale and may add a higher rate above $500,000, capped at 3%. Montreal is exempt from that cap and publishes its own brackets, which the city reindexes every January.
| Portion of the taxable base | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $62,900 | 0.5% |
| $62,900 to $315,000 | 1.0% |
| $315,000 to $552,300 | 1.5% |
| $552,300 to $1,104,700 | 2.0% |
The finding most Montreal buyers would not expect is where the city’s own brackets start to bite. Because the 2% rate applies only above $552,300, a median condominium purchase pays exactly what it would pay anywhere else in Quebec, and a median single-family purchase pays $38.50 more. The premium grows quickly above that line.
| Purchase price | Welcome tax in Montreal | Elsewhere in Quebec | Montreal premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| $420,000 (median condo) | $4,411 | $4,411 | $0 |
| $560,000 (median single-family) | $6,549 | $6,511 | $39 |
| $700,000 | $9,349 | $8,611 | $739 |
| $855,000 (median plex) | $12,449 | $10,936 | $1,514 |
Two mechanics catch buyers out. The tax is calculated on the greater of what you paid and the municipal assessment multiplied by the comparative factor, so buying below assessed value does not reduce the bill. And the invoice arrives weeks after closing rather than at closing, which means the money still has to be there. Check your own figure with the Quebec land transfer tax calculator.
Quebec applies a reduced 9% tax to insurance premiums, including mortgage default insurance from CMHC, Sagen and Canada Guaranty. On the median single-family purchase with the minimum down payment, the premium is $21,160, and the tax on it is $1,904. The premium can be financed; the tax cannot.
Revenu Québec is aligning that rate with the full 9.975% Quebec sales tax rate, and the new rate applies to premiums paid after December 31, 2026. At the same premium, the closing-day tax increases from $1,904 to $2,111, a difference of $ 207. Add the welcome tax and a Montreal buyer at the median needs about $8,453 in cash beyond the down payment, before legal fees, the inspection and adjustments.
Montreal owners pay a municipal property tax set by the city and the borough, plus a separate provincial school tax, and the second one regularly surprises buyers arriving from other provinces. Both are calculated on the municipal assessment rather than your purchase price, and Montreal’s assessment roll is updated every 3 years, so a roll year can move your bill noticeably even when nothing about your home has changed.
Lenders count property taxes inside your gross debt service ratio, which means these bills limit the mortgage you qualify for rather than just your monthly budget. For a divided co-ownership, add your condominium fees; lenders count half. Enter your actual annual figures in the calculator rather than a city average.
Payments here run on the same equation and the same compounding convention as everywhere else in Canada:
M = P [ i(1 + i)^n ] / [ (1 + i)^n – 1 ]
Canadian fixed-rate mortgages compound semi-annually, so the periodic rate is (1 + annual rate / 2)^(1/6) – 1 for a monthly payment rather than the annual rate divided by 12. Variable-rate mortgages compound monthly, where dividing by 12 is correct. Working through the median single-family purchase with the minimum down payment:
Switching that mortgage to accelerated bi-weekly payments of $1,447 raises what you pay in a year from $34,727 to $37,621, roughly one extra monthly payment, and takes about 3 years off the amortization period.
Choose your transaction type first, since a purchase, a renewal, and a refinance each require different inputs and are priced differently.
The welcome tax applies to a transfer of ownership, so a refinance or a switch at renewal does not trigger it. In Montreal, your mortgage is a hypothec registered at the Registre foncier by a notary rather than a lawyer, and the notary’s fee is part of what makes a refinance worth doing only when the interest saved covers it. On a $448,000 balance, shaving 0.20% off a renewal rate is worth roughly $49 per month, and switching lenders at renewal carries no prepayment penalty.
Quebec borrowers have historically leaned toward variable rates more than buyers in the rest of Canada, so the distinction above is worth reading twice. A full percentage point on the $550,160 mortgage moves the payment by about $306 a month. nesto’s insured 5-year fixed rate is currently 4.39%, against a qualifying rate of 6.39% used to test your application, since every new mortgage is stress-tested at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or the 5.25% floor set by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).
A $450,000 mortgage in Montreal costs approximately $2,367 per month at a 4% fixed rate over a 25-year amortization, or $2,140 per month over a 30-year amortization. At 4.50%, the 25-year figure rises to $2,491. The payment covers principal and interest only, so add your municipal property tax, your school tax and, for a divided co-ownership, your monthly fees.
Montreal’s welcome tax runs on the city’s own 2026 scale: 0.5% up to $62,900; 1.0% to $315,000; 1.5% to $552,300; and 2.0% from there to $1,104,700, with higher rates above that. On a $560,000 purchase, the duty is $6,549, and on the $700,000 example the city itself publishes, it is $9,349. The invoice arrives within weeks of closing and is payable in one instalment.
Montreal’s welcome tax is higher, but only above $552,300, where the city’s 2% bracket begins. A median condominium at $420,000 pays exactly what it would pay anywhere else in Quebec, and a median single-family home at $560,000 pays about $39 more. The gap widens with price: roughly $739 more at $700,000 and $1,514 more at $855,000. Montreal is the one municipality exempt from the 3% cap that limits other Quebec cities.
The welcome tax cannot be added to your mortgage. Montreal issues an invoice weeks after your purchase closes, payable in a single instalment within 30 days, which means the cash must still be available after closing day. Note that the duty is calculated on the greater of your purchase price and the municipal assessment multiplied by the comparative factor, so buying below assessed value does not lower it.
Beyond your down payment, a Montreal buyer at the median single-family price needs about $8,453: $6,549 in welcome tax plus $1,904 in provincial tax on the insurance premium. Notary fees, the inspection, the certificate of location and tax adjustments sit on top. Buyers closing in 2027 should budget $2,111 rather than $1,904 for the premium tax, since the rate rises for premiums paid after December 31, 2026.
The minimum down payment in Montreal follows the federal rules: 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the portion between $500,000 and $1.5 million. If the purchase price is $1.5 million or more, 20% of the full price is required, because default insurance is no longer available at that level. For the $560,000 median single-family price, the minimum is $31,000; for the $420,000 median condominium price, it is $21,000.
Lenders will count part of the rental income from an owner-occupied plex toward qualifying, which is why an $855,000 plex can be more attainable than the price alone suggests. How much counts varies by lender and by whether the units are leased at market rates. The property must still meet the down payment rules for its number of units, so confirm the treatment before you make an offer.
A Quebec mortgage is a hypothec created under the Civil Code and registered at the Registre foncier by a notary, rather than by a lawyer as in the common-law provinces. The notary drafts the deed, verifies title, registers the hypothec, and handles the funds at closing; the fee for that work is a closing cost to budget alongside the welcome tax.
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