Montreal condos: is insurance driving the discount spread?

S

small_quill

First-time buyer
Established
I’m tracking Montreal condos listed from C$685,800 to C$1,029,000, with C$857,200 as the rough midpoint of my snapshot. The reported movement is down 6.7%, and listings are taking about 99 days.

What stands out is that negotiated discounts seem to widen sharply with property condition. My working theory is that insurance concerns are creating more of that spread than headline buyer demand. There are more listings, but not many I would actually buy.

Does that fit what others are seeing in Canada? Please name the neighbourhood and property type, and distinguish completed sales from asking-price reductions if possible.
 
I see why insurance could explain part of the discount spread, but I am not convinced it is the main cause. In Montreal condos, a dated unit may also point to deferred work elsewhere in the building, while 99 days on the market can simply mean the seller started too high.

For Griffintown, I would first pull recent completed sales from the same building and compare fees, parking, unit condition and any known building work. A seller can change the price; unresolved building problems are much harder for a buyer to reverse.
 
What exactly does the 6.7% measure—market movement, average price cuts, or the gap between original list and completed sale? Also, are the 99 days continuous, or can withdrawn and relisted units restart the count?

Those two definitions could materially change the conclusion. A relisted condo may look fresh even though buyers have already rejected its earlier price.
 
That distinction matters. I’d also avoid treating all central neighbourhoods as one market. A converted condo in the Plateau and a newer tower unit in Griffintown may attract different buyers even at similar prices.

The useful boundary is probably the smallest area with genuinely comparable completed sales. If that leaves too few examples, widen the period before widening the geography.
 
I’m not convinced insurance is the primary driver. Buyer financing and seller motivation could explain much of the same pattern. A seller who needs a quick result may cut early; another can sit for 99 days and withdraw rather than negotiate.

Price-cut timing would help: one reduction after two weeks tells a different story from several reductions followed by a relisting. I’d separate renovated, dated and visibly problematic units before comparing discounts.
 
A practical way to test the theory is to track each condo from first appearance through sale or withdrawal. Record neighbourhood, building, original and latest price, reduction dates, cumulative days, condition, parking, fees and whether the unit returned under a new listing.

Then compare completed sales first, withdrawn stock second, and active listings last. Insurance-related information can be noted where it is actually available, but it should not be inferred solely from a large discount.
 
Agreed on separating the outcomes, though withdrawn stock should not disappear from the picture. If many unattractive units are withdrawn, completed sales alone can make demand look stronger than it is.

For this C$685,800–C$1,029,000 range, I’d build small building-level groups, mark cumulative days through relistings, and note when the first cut occurred. That should show whether the 6.7% movement comes from genuine sale negotiations or merely changing asking prices.
 
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