Since the start of summer, the same question comes up at almost every showing: can I negotiate? A year ago, I usually said no. This fall, the answer is "it depends," and that "it depends" is worth money.
Choice is back, not a fire sale
The market has changed face since spring. In July, the South Shore had 3,588 properties for sale, 24% more than a year earlier. In that same month, 747 deals closed, down 4% and a fourth straight monthly decline. More supply, fewer sales: that is exactly the setting where a buyer gets some power back.
But be careful not to misread the signal. The median single-family price on the South Shore still reached $643,000 in July, up 2% year over year. Values keep climbing while the number of sales falls. You have more time and more choice, yes. What you don't have in front of you is a market that is collapsing.
Where the room actually is
Negotiation does not play out the same way from one segment to the next. The condo is where a buyer breathes most: median selling time has stretched to about 49 days on the South Shore, roughly fifteen days more than in 2025. When a listing lingers, the seller becomes more open to an offer under the asking price.
Single-family homes stay tighter. A good home that is well priced still sells in a little over a month, around 34 days on average. There, your room comes less from the price than from the conditions and the timing. The real pocket of negotiation this fall is the property that has been listed for 40, 50, or 60 days. An over-ambitious spring price becomes a fall opportunity. I always check the listing date before I advise an offer.
Conditions are coming back into offers
In 2021 and 2022, to win, buyers dropped the inspection and bought with no financing condition. Many regretted it. That reflex has no place today. With the current inventory, you can submit an offer that keeps a proper inspection and a financing condition without being knocked out of the running.
That is where the real value of today's market sits, even more than in the price. An inspection protects you from a hidden roof or foundation bill. A financing condition keeps you from losing your deposit if the bank appraises the property below your offer. Negotiating is not only about lowering the price. It is also about buying with a margin of safety.
Financing works for you, with one caveat
The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on July 15, a sixth hold in a row. The next announcement lands on September 2, and markets expect another hold. That stability helps you plan without surprises. In mid-August, a five-year insured fixed rate sat around 4.09%.
The caveat is the stress test. The bank does not qualify you at the rate you will pay, but at your contract rate plus two points, or 5.25%, whichever is higher. That figure sets your real budget, and therefore your negotiating power. Get your pre-approval sorted before you view anything. A pre-approved buyer who knows their ceiling negotiates calmly; a buyer who improvises gets steamrolled.
What it means for you
- If you're buying: take advantage of the choice without mistaking patience for a guaranteed discount. Look first at properties listed for more than a month and at condos, where the room is real. Keep your inspection and financing conditions. Arrive pre-approved, with your ceiling worked out at the stress-test rate.
- If you're selling: know that the buyer has some latitude back. Your best shield is still a fair starting price. A well-priced home still sells fast and leaves little room to negotiate. A home listed 5% too high invites low offers and settles into the inventory statistics.
- If you're investing: the plex posted the strongest price gain of the month, at a median of $810,000, up 14%. Negotiating room is thinner there, because rental demand stays firm. Look instead at buildings that are mispriced or have been on the market a long time.
These benchmarks apply to the whole South Shore, not to your street in particular. Candiac doesn't negotiate like Longueuil, and a new condo doesn't trade like a 1970s bungalow. Before you make an offer or accept one, let's talk about your file. Request an evaluation or write to me, and we'll look at your numbers together. You can also read my analysis on the fall rebalancing.