Plex: sales price increases in Quebec

The price of "plexes" (rental building with two to five units) continued to grow in Québec over the last 12 months, according to a recent analysis by the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB).

Indeed, their average selling price has increased by 7% since one year. Thus, it cost an average of $ 408,203 to acquire a plex during the period from June 2017 to May 2018, according to Centris data collected for the QFREB.

The QFREB explains the higher growth in the price of plexes compared to other types of properties (single-family homes and condos) by the reduction of the number of plexes in several central neighborhoods.

"The construction of new plexes is extremely rare or almost non-existent in several central districts. When a developer gets their hands on well located land, it is usually much more cost effective to build a higher density building. [...] On the other hand, in recent years, despite fairly restrictive rules imposed by several municipalities, plexes have been converted into condominiums (divided or undivided) or, more occasionally, into single-family homes, thus contributing little by little to the reduction of the housing stock of small rental properties, mainly in Montreal, "explains the QFREB.

It is on the island of Montreal where the average selling price of a plex was the highest in Quebec, at $ 520,986. This is an increase of 8% over last year. The average sale price of a plex also rose in the Gatineau metropolitan area, climbing 6% to $ 302,649.

In the Quebec City metropolitan area, it costs an average of $ 307,015 to purchase a two-to-five-unit building, roughly the same amount (-1%) as during the same period last year. In Sherbrooke, the average plex price was $ 228,769 (-3%), while it was $ 185,785 (-1%) in Saguenay. Lastly, in the Trois-Rivières region, the average selling price remained relatively stable at $ 165,000.