Greater Montreal Office — Q1 2026

The Quarter in Brief

Five brokerages published Greater Montreal Area office data for the first quarter of 2026, and the theme they share is polarization. Every firm described the same split market: Trophy and Class A space tightening, with demand concentrated in high-quality buildings, while Class B and C inventory stayed under competitive pressure. Colliers captured the mood by describing a shift from a "flight to quality" to a "fight for quality," as scarce premium space draws competing tenants. Avison Young framed the same dynamic as a market "between obsolescence and modernity."

On the headline numbers the firms clustered tightly. Overall vacancy was reported in a narrow 17.2 to 18.9 percent band — Colliers 17.2 percent, Cushman & Wakefield 17.8 percent, CBRE 18.7 percent and JLL 18.9 percent — while Avison Young, which reports availability rather than vacancy, put total availability at 18.4 percent. Where the firms genuinely diverged was on net absorption, which split on sign: JLL and Avison Young reported positive quarters, while Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers and CBRE reported negative ones. Beneath that split, all five agreed on the composition — Class A space gained occupancy and Class B space gave it back.

The investment story was the quarter's clearest break from recent years. The Deloitte Tower sold for $279 million, and the brokers reported the strongest opening quarter for office sales volume in several years. This report relays what the five brokerages reported, alongside the national capital-markets context their parent surveys provide. It is descriptive: where the brokers disagree on a number or its direction, the disagreement is surfaced rather than resolved.