Gatineau home sales drop, but prices stay put

Tashi Farmilo

A new report shows home sales in the Gatineau area fell sharply in the first three months of 2026, though prices have barely moved, suggesting the market is cooling rather than crashing. The quarterly residential barometer, published April 15 by the Chambre immobilière de l'Outaouais and the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers, draws on data from the Centris real estate database.

Buyers and sellers completed 936 home sales between January and March, about 10 per cent fewer than during the same period last year. The slowdown follows a stretch of unusually busy years in the local market, and the report attributes the decline largely to a normalization following several years of particularly strong activity, compounded by the departure of temporary residents from the area.

One of the bigger shifts has been the growing number of homes available to buy. There are now 18 per cent more active listings than there were a year ago, which means buyers have more options than they’ve had for some time. That said, homes are still selling faster than supply can build up, so sellers continue to have the upper hand.

Prices reflect that balance. A typical single-family home in Gatineau sold for just under $490,000, essentially the same as last year. Condos ticked up slightly to $312,000, while plexes held steady at around $551,500.

Not every part of the city is experiencing the same thing. Hull saw the most dramatic slowdown, with sales dropping 40 per cent compared to last year, and condos in Hull were hit particularly hard. The outskirts of Gatineau also saw a notable pullback. Aylmer told a different story. Sales there rose five per cent to 197 transactions, bucking the broader trend, though the number of homes listed for sale jumped 32 per cent and active listings were up 55 per cent, meaning significantly more supply is hitting that market than buyers are absorbing. The typical single-family home in Aylmer sold for $550,000, down just one per cent from last year.

Gatineau continues to benefit from its proximity to Ottawa. Houses there cost considerably less than comparable properties across the river, and that price gap keeps drawing buyers from Ontario, which helps keep the local market from softening too much.

For renters, the picture is less encouraging. Average rents climbed eight per cent over the past year to $1,460 per month, and the vacancy rate sits at 3.8 per cent, meaning available units are not plentiful. That pressure on the rental market is partly a reflection of what is happening on the ownership side: when people are uncertain about buying, they tend to stay put as renters, which tightens supply and pushes rents higher.

Taken together, the numbers paint a picture of a market finding its footing rather than falling apart. Sales are down, but prices are holding, homes are still moving, and the fundamental draws of the area, affordability relative to Ottawa and a resilient local job market, have not gone away. The coming quarters will show whether this settling period is brief, or the market has further adjusting to do.

Gatineau's housing market slowed notably in early 2026, with sales falling 10 per cent and inventory rising sharply, though prices held steady and conditions continue to favour sellers across the city. Photo: Tashi Farmilo