Prices are up. Sales are down. The number of expired listings is climbing fast. If you’ve been watching the West Island market, you’re seeing mixed signals. What’s really going on with single-family homes?
Before we dive into the data, let’s clear up the confusing noise you’re seeing from other sources: municipal median price comparisons.
- “Beaconsfield is up 11%!”
- “Kirkland is down 3%!”
- “Pointe Claire is up 6%!”
Most West Island municipalities only see 15 to 40 sales a month. When the sample size is that small, just a few high-end closings or a cluster of smaller homes can dramatically skew the median price, without telling you anything about the actual value of your home.
The Bigger Picture: The overall West Island median sale price rose by 3.3%. This is a sign the market is holding steady. But this stat doesn’t tell you what your home is worth. That depends entirely on your specific street, its condition, and what buyers in your price bracket are choosing right now. It requires a proper market study, not a headline stat.
Here is the broader West Island trend from March 2026 vs March 2025:
The March Numbers: Year-over-Year – West Island Single Family Homes
March 2026 | March 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
Median Sale Price | $780,000 | $755,000 | +3.3% |
Number of Sales | 375 | 415 | -9% |
Active Listings | 694 | 676 | +2% |
Expired/Cancelled Listings | 75 | 57 | +31% |
Sales are down, but prices and inventory are relatively flat. The most significant signal here is the 31% jump in expired and cancelled listings.
Buyers aren’t waiting on the sidelines; they are active and motivated. What’s changed is how selective they are. They are measuring every single home against its competition. A meaningful number of homes are not passing that comparison test.
The Three-Speed Market
The single most important thing for you to understand right now is that your experience as a buyer or a seller is determined by the price range you’re in.
1. Under $1 Million: Strong Seller’s Market (2 Months of Inventory)
Two months of inventory is tight. If a home is well-priced and presents well in this category, buyers notice it immediately.
- Buyer Behaviour: Buyers at this entry-level price point (starting around $600,000 for single-family homes) are choosing the best option within their budget. They aren’t buying whatever comes up.
- The Selectivity Factor: Homes that are clean, well-maintained, and priced honestly are moving quickly. Homes needing significant repair work are being passed over faster than before. Buyers know that rising labour and material costs mean a home needing $100,000 to $150,000 in updates quickly becomes a financial strain if the initial price isn’t compelling enough.
For Sellers: Your price is a strategy for entering the market, not a verdict on your home’s worth. The right price engages active buyers; The right price engages the buyers who are actively looking right now. But even a small overestimation can mean the most qualified buyers skip booking a showing altogether because price and condition are also how buyers filter their search online.
2. $1M to $2M: Balanced Seller’s Market (4 Months of Inventory)
This range is where serious move-up buyers are most active. Quality homes are selling, but buyer selectivity is more pronounced.
- Buyer Behaviour: Someone spending over $1.5 million is not looking for a project. They want a home they can enjoy now. One that is well-maintained and free of hidden costs. Like the sub-$1M bracket, they will not easily absorb significant renovation costs unless the pricing is realistic.
- The Critical Window: The first 7 to 14 days on the market are your listing’s most valuable. This is when the largest group of qualified buyers is paying attention. If your price or presentation doesn’t hold up in that first week, you lose those most likely to act.
For Sellers: Homes that expire in this range almost always had one of three issues: price did not match condition, presentation was lacking, or the overall marketing strategy missed the mark.
3. Over $2M: Deep Buyer’s Market (50 Months of Inventory)
Fifty months of inventory means it would take over four years to sell all the current listings if no new homes came on the market. This is a buyer’s market by a wide margin.
- Buyer Behaviour: Buyers in this segment have time and real alternatives. There is no urgency. They compare meticulously and will walk away without hesitation if the price or presentation is off.
- The Risk of Overpricing: The temptation is to “start high and come down later.” In this market, that feels like the safe route but is often the riskiest. When a home is overpriced, engagement is low, the listing sits, and the property’s narrative quickly shifts from “new opportunity” to “what is wrong with it?” This perception is incredibly difficult to reverse.
For Sellers: The homes that sold above $2 million were priced realistically and prepared to a high standard from the start. There is no shortcut.
Why Homes Aren’t Selling (The Expired Listings Gap)
Sales are down 9% while inventory holds steady. The gap is ending up in the expired and cancelled pool. When you look at these listings, the pattern is consistent:
The market gives feedback through buyer behaviour. Showings, offers, or silence. Silence is feedback.
- No Offers, Many Showings: Price is the problem.
- Very Few Showings: Price and/or presentation is the problem.
The most common reasons homes expire are a price that doesn’t match the home’s condition, poor presentation that fails online, and a flawed strategy where the seller started too high, burning through the most valuable weeks of the listing. Don’t mistake “starting high to leave room to negotiate” for a conservative strategy. It’s often the riskiest one. The buyers most likely to pay full value show up in the first weeks. Overpricing sends them to your competition.
West Island Condo Market: Active, but Caution Required
West Island condos are telling a different, more positive story for sales.
West Island Condo Market: Year-over-Year
March 2026 | March 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
Median Sale Price | $459,000 | $445,000 | +3% |
Number of Sales | 161 | 120 | +34% |
Active Listings | 349 | 272 | +28% |
Sales are up 34%, driven largely by first-time buyers using condos as their entry point into homeownership. This demand is strong. But there are two critical things condo buyers need to know:
1. Reserve Funds and Special Assessments: Buyer Beware
New provincial legislation requires condo buildings to complete long-term reserve fund studies and maintain proper contingency funds. Many older buildings are catching up on years of underfunding. This means rising condo fees and unexpected special assessments landing on co-owners.
- Your Due Diligence: Before you buy, you must read the reserve fund study, understand the financials, and know if a special assessment is coming. This is the most important financial question in any condo purchase. A condo priced at $430,000 is not a deal if a $25,000 special assessment is around the corner.
- Action Step: Ask for the declaration of co-ownership, meeting minutes and financial statements for the last two years, and the reserve fund study before you fall in love with the unit. Remember, you’re buying the building, not just the unit.
2. The Missing Condo: Why Seniors Are Staying Put
Many seniors who own large family homes are ready to downsize, but they aren’t moving. Why? The answer is a lack of suitable product.
The market has plenty of one and two-bedroom units. What is nearly impossible to find is a spacious, high-quality, three-bedroom, two-bathroom condo (1,600 to 2,000 sq ft). Seniors are not ready to go from a 3,000 sq ft family home to a tiny two-bedroom.
This supply gap has a significant ripple effect:
- Seniors stay in their large family homes.
- Those family homes don’t come to market.
- Young families looking to upsize in areas like Beaconsfield, Kirkland and Pointe-Claire have fewer options.
- Inventory stays tight below $1.5 million.
The West Island needs more large-format condos. Until that happens, the inventory problem will persist.
Ready for Your Custom Market Study?
If you want to know what your home is actually worth in today’s market, not the municipal median, but a real number based on your street, the condition of your home, and what buyers in your price range are choosing right now, then you need to start with a proper market study.
Reach out, and we’ll walk you through it.
