A 'Rental Renaissance' in Montreal

"A renaissance in rental construction is projected to add tens of thousands of new apartment units in the Montreal area during the next few years, and they’re not your typical cheap urban flats," reports Briana Tomkinson.

"The new building trend is for higher-end — and in some cases, luxury — rentals, designed to appeal to up-and-coming young professionals and downsizing baby boomers," adds Tomkinson. "Many of these new projects also aren’t in the city, but in suburban areas like the South Shore."

Tomkinson cites data from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation that shows construction data spiking from 1,500 units a year between 2011 and 2014 to 4,000 units a year in 2015 and 2016. "In 2017, the number of new units under construction surged by more than 40 per cent to more than 7,500 units," adds Tomkinson.

Still, the city's vacancy rates are dropping as strong net in-migration drives demand in the city.