Approximately 25,000 apartments and condos are currently vacant on the island of Montreal [1].
This discovery highlights a critical disconnect between the city's severe housing shortage and the actual availability of residential space. While many residents struggle to find affordable homes, a significant volume of existing inventory remains unoccupied.
Laurianne Croteau, a data journalist for Radio-Canada Info, uncovered the figures through a detailed data analysis [1]. The scale of the vacancy is substantial, with the number of empty units roughly equivalent to all the housing found in the Villeray neighborhood [2].
The data suggests that these units are not empty due to a lack of demand. Instead, the vacancies are partly the result of owners who leave properties empty intentionally [1]. Such actions are often tied to speculative investment strategies where owners wait for property values to increase before selling or renting [3].
One specific example cited in the reporting is Gestion Turret, a firm associated with leaving units vacant [1]. These practices contribute to the artificial tightening of the rental market, driving up costs for those seeking shelter in the city.
The findings emphasize a systemic issue where housing is treated as a financial asset rather than a primary necessity. This trend persists even as the city faces an ongoing housing crisis that affects thousands of low- and middle-income residents [3].
“Approximately 25,000 apartments and condos are currently vacant on the island of Montreal”
The presence of 25,000 vacant units during a housing crisis suggests that the shortage in Montreal is not merely a failure of construction or supply, but a failure of distribution. When speculative investment outweighs the residential need for shelter, it creates an artificial scarcity that inflates rents and pushes vulnerable populations out of the urban core.
