Selling your home in Québec City: the steps, from pricing to handing over the keys

1. How do you set the price?

By comparing your property with recent sales of similar properties in your area. It is the sold prices that count, not the asking prices or the municipal assessment. The result is a range, and the asking price is chosen within that range according to your goal: sell quickly, or test the top of the market.

A starting price that is too high is costly: the property stays listed, loses the attention of the first days and often ends up selling for less than if it had been well positioned from the start.

What is my home worth? The method

2. What do you need to prepare before listing?

The property and the file. For the property: declutter, repair what shows, take care of the entrance and the lighting. For the documents:

• the certificate of location, up to date;
• the Declarations by the seller of the immovable form;
• the municipal and school tax bills;
• invoices for renovations and any warranties still valid;
• for a condo: the declaration of co-ownership, the financial statements and the minutes of the syndicate.

3. What is in the brokerage contract?

The brokerage contract is the written agreement between you and your broker. It sets the asking price, the term of the contract, the remuneration and what is included in the sale. Read it in full and ask your questions before signing.

What does a broker cost?

4. How does the marketing work?

The property is photographed, described, then listed on Centris®, where other brokers and buyers see it. The first days are when it gets the most attention: everything has to be ready before, not after. Then come the showings; your broker collects the feedback and adjusts if needed.

5. How do you negotiate a promise to purchase?

A promise to purchase is more than its price. It also contains conditions (inspection, financing, sale of the buyer's property), deadlines and an occupancy date. You can accept it, refuse it or make a counter-proposal.

A slightly lower offer with no risky condition can be worth more than a higher offer that is unlikely to make it to the notary's office. Compare the net amount and the strength of each offer.

6. What happens between the accepted offer and the firm sale?

The buyer fulfils the conditions within the set deadlines: building inspection, confirmation of financing, review of the documents. If the inspection reveals a problem, the buyer may ask for a repair, a price reduction or withdraw, depending on what the promise to purchase provides. Once all the conditions are fulfilled, the sale is firm.

7. How does the signing at the notary's office work?

The notary examines the titles, prepares the deed of sale, receives the funds from the buyer and their lender, pays off your mortgage and gives you the balance. The notary also calculates the tax adjustments as of the date of sale. You hand over the keys on the agreed occupancy date.

How long does it all take?

The time needed to find a buyer depends on the area and the type of property. Here is the average observed in our eight areas:

Source: Centris® Statistics, year to date, January to September 2026. Most representative property type in each area.

On top of that come the period for the conditions, then the wait until the signing date at the notary's office, which is negotiated in the promise to purchase.

Frequently asked questions