Quebec City, Quebec
Benchmark housing price: $380,000
Population: 549,459
To the naked eye, Quebec is an old-world city, packed with neoclassical design, grand monuments and cobblestone streets. But in the last few decades, it’s taken a turn toward the ultra-modern. Quebec City has blossomed into an unlikely tech hub, with more than 500 startups, many fuelled by the tech accelerator and incubator Le Camp in downtown’s Saint-Roch neighbourhood. The city is also home to a host of video game studios, and tech conferences regularly descend on its downtown convention centre. The city’s manufacturing sector has gone high-tech too, investing in sectors like industrial lasers and fibre optics: the $75-million Coractive fibre optics factory opened its doors just last year.
Houses are still shockingly affordable, with a median price of $380,000 for a single-family home. One of the most coveted areas is La Cité-Limoilou, a gorgeously historical borough where Jacques Cartier set up his camp along the riverbank in 1535. It’s the site of some affordable residential zones. The area draws plenty of professionals and families looking to be near, but outside of, the main bustle. The leafy neighbourhood of Vieux-Limoilou along the St. Charles River, for example, is dominated by former houses-turned-condos, with units selling for between $165,000 and $275,000 alongside duplexes that go for $300,000 to $450,000; triplexes start at around $485,000. Heading away from government buildings and fortified citadels, you’ll find Saint-Sauveur, or “Saint-So” as the locals call it. The up-and-coming zone is chock-full of renovated 19th-century buildings, including the odd exposed-brick-and-wood-beam revamp.
That preserved architecture, along with a predominant Frenchness (both in conversations and in the kitchen), have long made Quebec City a popular tourist destination that attracts over four million visitors each year. It’s a spectacular food town, with plenty of award-winning restaurants that range from from affordable wine bars to splashy fine-dining destinations, all spoiled by their proximity to l’Île d’Orléans—an agricultural paradise on an island connected to the city by bridge—and the Charlevoix region to the northeast. For hikers and skiers, the Laurentian Mountains along the St. Lawrence are just an hour from downtown. For armchair athletes, Quebec is once again eyeing its own NHL team.
Recently Listed
244 Rue Franklin
Price tag: $425,000
The place: A renovated duplex with a landscaped courtyard in the Saint-Sauveur neighbourhood
298 Pownal Street
Price tag: $489,000
The place: A three-bedroom, two-bath century home in the historic Beauport district
3402 Avenue des Platanes
Price tag: $579,000
The place: A three-bedroom home on a large lot with a heated in-ground outdoor pool and hot tub
353 24e Rue
Price tag: $549,500
The place: A three-bedroom, three-bath, recently renovated house in Limoilou with a bright open-concept layout and nine-foot ceilings
