"How does Montreal maintain its enviably low rents?"
TGM:
The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Montreal metro area is $760. The Toronto average is $1,288. In Vancouver, it’s $1,368.
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This, in miniature, is the story of Montreal’s improbably cheap rent: ample but antique housing stock; a sluggish economy; and a language barrier that puts a soft cap on population growth.
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As anyone who has visited the city can attest, it’s full of three-storey walk-ups festooned with spiral staircases.