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There are substantial apartment rental opportunities in Quebec. Even though there has not been a serious increase in new construction, economic conditions across the province have assured an even supply of rental housing, although with varied availability from one locale to another. In this article, to assist our customers, RentQuebecApartments.com will survey apartment rentals in Quebec as a whole and report on specific market conditions in Montreal, Quebec City, Laval, Monteregie/South Shore, Gatineau and Mauricie.

In its last report in October 2012, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) called the supply “generally stagnant in several large urban centres in Quebec over the past year.”

“Investors still prefer the more profitable condominium and retirement home segments. Nonetheless, several agglomerations registered increases in supply that affected their markets,” the CMCH added. “There were regional differences in demand, particularly in a number of smaller agglomerations, where favourable economic conditions attracted migrants (boosting rental housing demand).”

Market conditions eases in several urban centres

The CMHC said the overall vacancy rate for Quebec’s urban centres “rose slightly over last year, having reached 3.0 per cent in 2012, compared to 2.6 per cent in 2011.” In addition, all markets in Quebec, except Sherbrooke, registered statistically significant increases in their vacancy rates.

Overall outlook

Rental housing is, and remains, “an important reality in Quebec’s housing context —important because of the size of the rental housing stock’s size” and because vacancy rates “remain relatively low in several centres.” Rental housing’s greater affordability and property management benefits are assets in the current context of financial constraints and of retirement of the first baby boomers, according to the CMHC report.

“The market will remain tight in the short term. In the medium term, it will be important to track the residential path of the new cohort of seniors,” the CMHC said, asking:

• Will they age in place?
• Will condominiums have adapted to the realities of people in their seventies?
• Will the new cohort of seniors follow the same path as the previous cohort?
• Or, finally, will they have moved earlier to mid- or upper- range traditional rental housing?

The answers to these questions will have an undeniable impact. What it means is that in each market, there are outstanding opportunities in rental apartments for the discerning tenant. At RentQuebecApartments.com, we think our Montreal base provides us with special insights into Quebec. The following is a market-by-market look at some of the highlights:

Montreal

The Montreal apartment rental market is so robust that the media has taken notice, particularly the Montreal Gazette. In a remarkable series, real estate writers Olivia Collette and Allison Lampert have covered all the ways Montreal has become more and more livable and neighbourhoods have improved in general, across the board. Collette wrote that the “Village, Old Montreal, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Mile-Ex, Snowdon, Villeray and St. Henri are all on the rise.”

“Property costs are no doubt influencing the migration, but it also has a lot to do with features all of these areas have in common,” Collette added.

Desirable neighbourhoods for apartment rentals are expanding in Montreal, beyond the usual niche of the Plateau Mont Royal borough, which has had “a stronghold in Montreal on all the things that make a district desirable: cool hangouts, a variety of shops and great food,” according to Collette. “Property costs are no doubt influencing the migration, but it also has a lot to do with features all of these areas have in common,” Collette added.

Rents are not rising as fast as other places in the province. Landlords faced increasing competition from the growing condo sector, CMHC data show.

The vacancy rate in Greater Montreal apartments “grew slightly, to 2.8 per cent in October, up from 2.5 per cent during the same month in 2011,” the data show. Equaled only by the Sherbrooke region, Greater Montreal’s 0.8-per-cent increase in apartment rents for an average two bedroom unit is “a fraction of the 5.9-per-cent year-over-year rise in rents in Greater Calgary, a 2.8-per-cent rise in Greater Toronto, and 2.3-per-cent rise in the Vancouver area,” Lampert added.

Quebec City

When seeking apartments on RentQuebecApartments.com, Sainte-Foy, Beauport and Montcalm are three Quebec City neighbourhoods with a great deal to offer. The rental housing vacancy rate edged up to 2.0 per cent in October 2012, from 1.6 per cent at the same time last year, according to the latest report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

“This small increase in the vacancy rate reflected a relatively stable demand combined with a slightly higher supply,” the CMCH report noted. “Despite its relative stability, demand for rental housing remained steady thanks to strong migration. In fact, net migration in the Quebec CMA stood at 4,650 people in 2011 and will likely reach the same level this year.”

One of the reasons Quebec City is desirable, apart from employment in the provincial government, is its culture forged by “centuries of snow.”

Generous helpings of snow attract skiers and outdoor buffs from all around the world to enjoy the area's skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and dogsledding trails. There is also North America's one and only Ice Hotel, the Québec Winter Carnival, and the largest winter playground in America—Village Vacances Valcartier!

Laval: vacancy rate stable

Reporting good news for those seeking apartment rentals in Laval, the CMHC stated that the vacancy rate “remained stable in October 2012, at 2.6 per cent. The rates were 3.8 per cent for bachelor apartments and 4.3 per cent for one-bedroom units while, for two- bedroom apartments and those with three or more bedrooms, the rates stood at 2.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively, the CMHC said.

“Immigration has been a significant factor stimulating the Laval rental market,” the CMHC added. The number of immigrants arriving in the region has “almost tripled” over the last ten years, rising from 1,120 people in 2001 to 2,922 in 2011.

Four desirable districts

There are four attractive and lively Laval districts populated by a mix of students and immigrants, each with its own enjoyable street life. These include Chomedey, Le Vieux-Sainte-Dorothée, Le Vieux-Saint-Vincent-de-Paul and Le Vieux-Sainte-Rose. Chomedey Laval represents Montreal’s geographic and linguistic divides. The district has been home to the city's Anglophone and allophone minorities, notably a large community of Greeks, who contribute to the area’s inexpensive restaurant scene.

Greater Monteregie -- South Shore market slightly softer

On the South Shore, the vacancy rate reached 3.5 per cent and exceeded the average for the Montreal area, according to the CMHC. Market conditions were “tighter in the eastern part of the South Shore.” In fact, in the zone that includes Beloeil and Saint- Bruno, the vacancy rate was 1.1 per cent, and, in the zone comprising the municipalities of Carignan, Chambly and Mont-Saint-Hilaire, the rate stood at 1.4 per cent.

Longueuil

Longueuil benefits from having very low property values, and good value in apartment rentals, despite its close proximity to Montreal. In Longueuil, the proportion of unoccupied units reached 4.4 per cent. This zone has the most rental housing units on the South Shore. A large portion of its residents commute to work in Montreal. The city consists of three boroughs: Le Vieux-Longueuil, Saint-Hubert and Greenfield Park.

Both the Université de Sherbrooke and Université de Montréal maintain campuses in the Borough of Le Vieux-Longueuil, along with the CEGEP Collège Édouard-Montpetit. The Collège also operates the École nationale d'aérotechnique, located at a separate campus near Saint-Hubert Airport. There are two technical and professional colleges, too -- the Pierre-Dupuy Professional Formation Centre and Collège Info-Technique. All of these are surrounded by rental apartments.

Brossard

Surrounded by four municipalities on the South Shore, Brossard features many parks scattered throughout the city. These include Parc écologique des Sansonnets, which is connected to the other areas of the city by about 37 km of biking paths.

Greenfield Park

Greenfield Park is the only Longueuil borough with bilingual status. It is primarily a post-war suburban area. Like the other two boroughs, most of the buildings in Greenfield Park are single-family homes. Nearly all of the land in Greenfield Park is built on, making it Longueuil's most densely populated borough.

St. Lambert

There are a handful of notable cultural institutions based in Saint-Lambert, such as the Museum of Costume and Textile of Quebec (French: Musée du costume et du textile du Québec), Le Balcon d'Art and La Foire d'Art Contemporain de Saint-Lambert.

Rental market conditions soften in Gatineau

The vacancy rate has also risen in the Quebec part of the Ottawa-Gatineau census metropolitan area. In fact, the proportion of unoccupied units was estimated at 3.3 per cent in October 2012, compared to 2.2 per cent at the same time the year before. This notable increase was a first in nearly five years in the Gatineau area, the most CMHC report stated, bring on the market many good new apartments for rent that can be found on RentQuebecApartments.com.

Hull market is tight

Apartment rentals in Hull best meet the needs of students and households, like those, without a vehicle, as most bus routes go through this sector. Another big advantage of Ottawa living is public transportation - a very important factor to consider for government employees in Gatineau, serviced by the STO bus system.

Hull remained one of the tightest markets on the river’s Quebec side, with a 2.4 per cent vacancy rate, according to CMHC data. This is likely due to its proximity to Canada’s capital and to the presence of many services, including institutions of higher learning including the Ecole Nationale D'Administration Publique (ENAP).

Mauricie - Trois-Rivie`res, Saguenay and Shawinigan

The Mauricie region, halfway between Montreal and Quebec City, is known for its attractive countryside and La Mauricie National Park, a prime tourist attraction. It has proximity to both major markets, and yet preserves its small-town Quebecois character. The three principal towns are Trois Rivières, Saguenay and Shawinigan, known as the birthplace of ‘le petit gars,’ Prime Minister Jean Chretien. There are several Cégeps and the Trois Rivières branch of the Université du Quebec, fueling rental apartment demand. It’s another place where RentQuebecApartments.com has the marketed covered for our customers.

After remaining stable in 2011, the Mauricie rental market eased this year. According to the results of the October 2012 CMHC survey, the proportion of unoccupied units increased from 3.9 per cent in the fall of 2011 to 5.2 percent in October.

This easing of the rental market was largely due to a more abundant supply of new units and a relatively stable demand in 2012. Rental market conditions have been softening since 2009. The vacancy rate on the area rental market was estimated at 2.0 per cent in October 2012, compared to 1.4 per cent a year earlier. While the youth job market and migration supported rental-housing demand in the area, the increase in supply caused the market to ease slightly.

Whether it’s Montreal, Quebec City, Laval, Monteregie/South Shore, Gatineau or Mauricie, you can find it on RentQuebecApartments.com. Take a look!