Cap rates by city / Quebec City
Quebec City cap rates in 2026
Apartment buildings in Quebec City traded at cap rates of 4.25% to 6% in CBRE's second-quarter 2026 survey, 9th lowest of the 13 Canadian cities CBRE surveys. Here is what sits behind that number, what CMHC says about vacancy and rents, and what a building is worth at the local yield.
Apartment cap rate
4.25% to 6%
CBRE, Q2 2026, Class A to B
Vacancy rate
2.4%
CMHC, October 2025
Average two-bedroom rent
$1,277
CMHC purpose-built, October 2025
Rent growth, 2025
6.1%
CMHC, two-bedroom, year over year
Run a Quebec City building through the calculator
Preloaded with a six-unit building at Quebec City's CMHC average two-bedroom rent, the city's vacancy rate, and generic expense assumptions ($1,800 tax and $600 insurance per unit, 8% maintenance, 5% management, $900 utilities per unit). The price is set so the building lands at the middle of the local range. Replace every number with your own.
Property & income
What you would actually pay, not the assessment
All units combined
Operating expenses (annual)
Of gross rent; 5–10% is typical
0 if self-managed
Condo fees, snow, lawn care
Your market
What similar properties trade at in this market
Cap rate
5.13%
$57,985 NOI on $1,131,000
Cap rate deliberately ignores financing: it is NOI divided by price, so you can compare properties regardless of how each buyer pays. The implied value inverts it: the price at which this NOI would hit your target cap rate. Useful as a negotiating anchor.
What the same building is worth across the range
The six-unit example above produces $57,985 of net operating income a year. Value is NOI divided by cap rate, so a half-point move in the market's cap rate changes the price by more than most renovations would:
| Cap rate | Building value |
|---|---|
| 4.25%low end | $1,364,344 |
| 5.13%middle | $1,131,407 |
| 6%high end | $966,410 |
Per unit: $227,391 at the low end to $161,068 at the high end.
Why Quebec City trades where it does
Quebec City has the tightest rental market in the country and the lowest rents of any city on this list, a combination that produces steady but unspectacular income. Cap rates run above Montreal, to 6% for low-rise Class B, because the buyer pool is smaller and mostly local, and a sale takes longer. Government employment gives the market a floor that Montreal's more cyclical economy lacks.
Vacancy, rents and the 2026 outlook
CMHC's October 2025 survey put vacancy at 2.4%, the lowest of the 13 cities, with two-bedroom rents up 6.1% to $1,277. Low vacancy plus TAL-limited renewals means the upside is on turnover, and turnover is slow when tenants have nowhere cheaper to go. Expect rent growth to track the 3.1% TAL recommendation plus a turnover premium.
Rent rules in Quebec
Quebec has no fixed cap. The Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) recommends an increase each year from a formula of CPI, taxes and insurance; for leases renewing April 2, 2026 to April 1, 2027 the base recommendation is 3.1%. Tenants can refuse and have the TAL set the rent. That rule sets how fast in-place income can grow, which is why two buildings with identical rent rolls can trade at different cap rates depending on how far below market their tenants sit.
Cap rate against your mortgage rate
At a 5.13% cap rate, a mortgage costing more than 5.13% makes leverage work against you: every borrowed dollar earns less than it costs until rents grow. In Quebec City that is roughly a wash at 2026 mortgage rates, so cash flow depends on the down payment and how far below market the rents sit. Put the same building through our rental property calculator to see the cash flow with the Canadian semi-annual mortgage formula.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cap rate range in Quebec City?+
4.25% to 6% for apartment buildings in CBRE's Q2 2026 survey, the widest range of the 13 cities because the stock varies from new suburban product to century-old buildings in Saint-Roch and Limoilou.
Is Quebec City a good rental market?+
It is the tightest in Canada by vacancy (2.4% in October 2025) with rents rising 6.1%, and buildings are priced for yield rather than appreciation. The constraints are the TAL's rent-setting regime and a thin resale market. It suits a buy-and-hold income investor more than a value-add flipper.
How Quebec City compares
| City | Cap rate | Vacancy |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 3.5% to 4.75% | 3.7% |
| Toronto | 3.85% to 5.15% | 3% |
| Montreal | 4.25% to 4.75% | 2.9% |
| Victoria | 4.25% to 5% | 3.3% |
| Winnipeg | 4.5% to 5.25% | 2.8% |
| London | 4% to 6% | 4% |
| Calgary | 4.5% to 5.5% | 5% |
| Halifax | 4.5% to 5.5% | 2.7% |
| Quebec City | 4.25% to 6% | 2.4% |
| Edmonton | 4.5% to 5.75% | 3.8% |
| Ottawa | 4.5% to 5.8% | 3% |
| Kitchener-Waterloo | 4.5% to 6% | 4.1% |
| Saskatoon | 5.25% to 6.75% | 3.3% |
Sources: CBRE Canadian Cap Rates & Investment Insights, Q2 2026 (cap rate summary, high-rise and low-rise Class A to B); CMHC Rental Market Report, October 2025 survey. Survey ranges describe stabilized, professionally managed buildings; individual sales print outside them. Measure your own deal with the cap rate calculator.