Opinion column by the ImmoMulti Team. Facts are sourced; opinions are our own.
"In the regions you get double the yield for half the price." That's the line echoing through every investor group right now. So should you really invest in a plex in the regions rather than in Greater Montreal or the North Shore? As a direct buyer of multi-unit properties on the North Shore, we hold an opinionated view — and it will annoy yield-chasers and big-market purists alike.
🔥 The Opinionated Take
Our position: the higher gross yield in the regions is real, but it is almost always overstated once you weigh liquidity, vacancy and remote management. For the vast majority of small investors, a plex on the North Shore — sitting between regional entry prices and Montreal's market depth — offers the best risk-adjusted return. Buying three hours away for an extra half-point of cap rate often means trading a number on a spreadsheet for a very real management nightmare.
Regional Yield: Real, but Melting Fast
Let's start by granting the regional camp its point: yes, the entry price is lower there. According to the APCIQ, in the first quarter of 2026, half of all plexes province-wide sold for more than $675,000, versus more than $865,000 in the Montreal CMA. Comparable rent on a lower purchase price mechanically produces a higher cap rate. On paper, the regions win.
Except that advantage is closing at speed. Again per APCIQ, in Q1 2026 median plex prices jumped 27% in Trois-Rivières, 24% in Saguenay and 10% in Sherbrooke year over year — far above the 8% in the Montreal CMA. In other words, investors rushed the regional yield and, in doing so, largely erased it. When a plex market gains 27% in twelve months, the entry cap rate you were aiming for no longer exists.
Source: APCIQ — Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Drummondville CMAs, Q1 2026.
Liquidity, Vacancy and Management: The Hidden Costs
A high cap rate is useless if you can't resell, if your unit sits empty, or if management eats your weekends. Three hidden costs erode the regional advantage:
- Liquidity. In a small market there are fewer plex buyers. A resale can drag on for months and close at a discount. On the North Shore or in Montreal, the buyer pool is deep and the exit is fast.
- Vacancy. Vacancy rose everywhere in 2025 per CMHC: 2.9% in the Montreal CMA, 2.4% in Quebec City, up to 3.8% in Gatineau. In a regional triplex, one empty unit wipes out a third of your income — and finding a quality tenant takes longer where demand is thin.
- Remote management. A water leak, a habitability complaint, a tribunal hearing: none of it is settled by phone from 250 km away. Either you pay a local manager (and your net cap rate melts), or you spend your own time and energy.
To measure the gap coldly, we always recommend comparing both scenarios with a cap rate calculator and a deal analyzer, building in realistic management fees for the distant option. The "real-world net" yield often holds surprises.
The paper cap rate trap
A regional plex listed at 8% gross cap rate can fall below a North Shore plex once you deduct 6 to 10% in remote-management fees, longer vacancy and a resale discount. The net yield, unlike the gross, doesn't brag in the listing.
Demographics Don't Say What You Think
The regional promoters' headline argument is "the urban exodus." It's partly grounded: Statistique Québec confirms that Montreal and Laval keep losing residents to other regions, and that Lanaudière and the Laurentians post the largest migratory gains. But read closely: the big winners are Montreal's north and south rings — that is, the North Shore — not remote regions, whose population growth is actually slowing in 2025.
Demographics therefore don't argue for "the regions" in general. They argue for Montreal's immediate suburbs, which capture both the island exodus and proximity to the big market. That's exactly the North Shore's niche. To gauge price gaps from one sector to the next, our North Shore plex price map is a useful benchmark before chasing a fake discount three hours away.
Read also
From the same opinion cluster: why buying a plex in a transitioning neighborhood can be a bet or a trap, and why a neighborhood's reputation often misleads the investor who looks only at the easy numbers.
🎭 Devil's Advocate
Let's be honest: the regional thesis isn't absurd, and in some cases it wins. If you already live in the regions, remote management doesn't exist — your plex is ten minutes away, and the "hidden cost" vanishes. A Saguenay owner buying in Saguenay enjoys the low entry price without the travel penalty.
What's more, the price advantage isn't a total mirage: even after the 2026 run-up, a regional plex remains markedly cheaper in absolute terms than a Montreal equivalent, which lowers the down payment and financing risk. And the vacancy loosening CMHC observed isn't all bad — it also signals new construction and still-solid rental demand in many mid-sized cities. Finally, for a seasoned investor with a local team (super, contractor, manager), the higher regional yield can genuinely materialize. The counter-argument holds: the regions reward local ground knowledge. They punish the yield tourist.
The Verdict for a North Shore Investor
Our conclusion, after weighing both sides: investing in the regions is a good idea for those who live there or have a real presence; it's an overstated bet for the Montrealer or suburbanite buying at a distance, believing they're buying yield. The extra half-point of cap rate is often devoured by vacancy, illiquidity and management.
For a North Shore plex owner, the good news is that you're already in the best spot: prices below the Montreal median, net migratory gains, solid resale liquidity and management proximity. No need to reach far for a yield your own ring already offers at lower risk. And if your North Shore plex has become a burden, selling it fast and clean to a direct buyer is simpler than liquidating a distant building in a thin market.
Sell your North Shore plex without an agentFirm offer within 48 hours, no commission — keep your capital here, not three hours away. →