Selling condos that do not yet exist is a fundamentally different discipline from resale marketing. The product is a promise: a floor plan, a rendering, a developer's track record, and a delivery date that is months or years away. Buyers are committing 10–15% of a purchase price against a deposit protection framework, and lenders are watching the presale numbers to decide whether construction financing gets released.

Get the strategy right and a project hits its presale threshold in the first 90 days of launch. Get it wrong and you are running expensive paid campaigns at a diminishing return, with nervous investors watching the sales counter.

This article breaks down how developers and their marketing partners should sequence a pre-sale launch in Quebec — phase by phase, channel by channel.

Why the 50–70% Threshold Is Non-Negotiable

Before the strategy, understand the financial stakes. Canadian construction lenders — including major chartered banks and credit unions — typically require 50–70% of units presold before releasing the construction loan. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) provides more favorable capital treatment when presales exceed 50%, which in practice means most institutional lenders set their threshold at or above that mark.

In Quebec, most private construction lenders also require that collected deposits equal at least 10–15% of each purchase price, and that deposit monies be held in trust. Under the provisions introduced by Bill 16 and administered through the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, buyers of divided co-ownership units are entitled to deposit protection — an important selling point that your sales team should communicate clearly.

The practical implication: your presale campaign is not a branding exercise. It is a financing instrument. A project that reaches 50% sold in 60 days unlocks construction funding that determines the project's timeline and the developer's cost of capital. Speed to threshold has a direct dollar value.

Phase 1: Positioning (3–6 Months Before Launch)

The foundation is set before a single unit is listed. This phase answers three questions: Who is the buyer? What story does this project tell? How does it differ from everything else on the market in the same price band?

Target buyer definition goes beyond demographics. A 45-year-old downsizer in Laval has a different emotional trigger than a 32-year-old first-time buyer in Rosemont. The project name, visual identity, and copy hierarchy should all point at the primary buyer persona.

Competitive positioning requires an honest audit of what is launching or recently launched within a 3 km radius. Differentiation by unit mix, design language, or price-per-square-foot needs to be defensible, not aspirational.

Render and asset production must happen in this phase — not after launch. High-quality AI-assisted architectural renders for exterior ambiance and suite-interior variants can be produced faster and more iteratively than traditional 3D studio work, and allow the team to test multiple design directions before committing print and signage budgets. Interior renders for the model suite, neighborhood lifestyle photography, and a building identity wordmark are all required inputs for the launch phase.

Visit /en-ca/studio to see how the studio side of this practice handles render and identity production for new projects.

Phase 2: Teaser (6–10 Weeks Before Launch)

The teaser phase builds the registration list — the single most valuable asset going into launch day.

A project landing page with email registration gating is the primary vehicle. The page does not need to reveal pricing or floor plans; it needs to communicate enough about the project's vision and location to compel registration. A count-down, a lead render, and a clean registration form are sufficient. Build this page with bilingual content from day one — Quebec's Bill 96 requires that websites serving Quebec residents offer a fully functional French-language version, with equal content and functionality. Penalties range from $3,000 to $30,000 per violation.

Read the full breakdown of how to structure this page in The Project Microsite That Actually Converts.

Teaser paid media on Meta (Facebook/Instagram) targets interest audiences: condo buyers, real estate investors, neighborhood enthusiasts. At this stage, campaign objectives are lead generation, not conversions. Budgets are modest — the goal is list-building, not pre-selling. A well-managed teaser campaign for a mid-size project (80–150 units) typically runs $5,000–$15,000 in media spend over six to eight weeks.

Broker network seeding starts in this phase. A direct outreach to 50–100 active Montreal-area buyer's agents, with a project overview and commission structure, seeds the pipeline with buyer referrals before the public launch. This channel consistently outperforms digital at launch day volume.

Phase 3: Launch (Days 1–30)

Launch is the highest-stakes window. The registration list converts (or does not), the broker network sends buyers, and the sales gallery opens.

The VIP launch — typically 48–72 hours of priority access for registered buyers before public launch — serves multiple purposes. It rewards early registrants, creates urgency, and concentrates initial sales volume into a short window so that "X% sold at launch" becomes a true marketing claim rather than a slow drip.

The sales gallery remains important for projects above 40–50 units, even as more buyers complete their purchase journey digitally. The gallery provides a physical space to experience finish samples, review floor plan books, and meet the developer team. It also serves as a credibility signal — developers who invest in a sales gallery are signaling permanence. For smaller projects or early-phase launches, a well-designed project microsite with plan and pricing access gated behind registration can function as a digital-first gallery.

Channel activation at launch should include: full broker co-op communications, paid Meta and Google lead campaigns with floor-plan-specific creative, a press release to Montreal real estate and business media, and — if budget permits — a feature in the local French-language real estate press. French-language media placement is not optional in most Quebec markets; it is how you reach the majority of the buyer population.

The pre-construction services page covers how this launch structure applies to active projects.

Phase 4: Sustain (Month 2 Through Threshold)

After launch month, the tempo drops but the pressure does not. Most projects see 40–60% of their total presales happen in the first 30 days; the remaining volume comes in over weeks or months, sometimes with a second surge triggered by construction milestones.

Paid media shifts from broad awareness to retargeting. Audiences who visited the project website but did not register, video viewers from launch ads, and lookalike audiences built from the buyer list are the primary targets. Cost-per-lead in the sustain phase typically runs higher than in launch — see realistic ranges by channel in What It Really Costs to Generate Leads for a Real Estate Project in Quebec.

Content marketing — project updates, construction progress posts, neighborhood features — maintains engagement with the registration list and gives broker partners fresh material to share with interested clients.

Price incentive management is the most delicate lever. Early-buyer pricing, upgrade incentives, and parking/locker promotions all carry margin implications. These decisions belong to the developer, but they should be timed based on sales velocity data, not panic.

Channel Mix: What Actually Drives Presales in Quebec

| Channel | Role | Typical Cost Efficiency | |---|---|---| | Broker network | Highest-volume single channel at launch | Commission-based: 2–3.5% co-op | | Meta (Facebook/Instagram) | Lead generation, list-building, retargeting | Low CPL for broad audiences | | Google Search | High-intent buyers actively searching | Higher CPL, higher conversion rate | | PR / media placement | Credibility, organic reach | Variable — story-dependent | | Email (registration list) | Highest conversion channel | Near-zero incremental cost | | Signage / out-of-home | Neighborhood awareness, foot traffic | Fixed cost, broad reach |

The broker network channel fundamentally changes the economics. A single buyer's agent can bring 2–5 qualified buyers; a co-op commission of 2.5–3% on a $600,000 unit is $15,000–$18,000 — high absolute cost but often the lowest cost-per-sale of any channel because broker-referred buyers arrive pre-qualified and motivated.

The OACIQ Dimension

In Quebec, all real estate advertising is subject to OACIQ regulations. A broker who is also the project's property marketing lead — managing both the sales strategy and acting as a licensed intermediary — must ensure that all advertising clearly identifies the brokerage, does not make unqualified performance guarantees, and complies with disclosure requirements on deposit terms and project timelines.

Jeremy Soares, OACIQ H2731, operates at exactly this intersection: project marketing strategy, marketing production, and licensed broker services for the sales floor. The result is a single point of accountability for a developer that eliminates the coordination overhead between separate marketing and brokerage relationships.

Contact /en-ca/contact to discuss a presale marketing structure for your project.

FAQ

What is the minimum presale percentage most Quebec lenders require before releasing construction financing? Most institutional lenders in Quebec require 50–70% of units presold, with deposited amounts equal to at least 10–15% of each purchase price. The OSFI framework treats projects above 50% presold more favorably for capital purposes, so many lenders use 50% as their operational floor.

How long does a typical presale campaign take from positioning to threshold? Most projects in the 60–150 unit range reach their lender threshold within 3–6 months of public launch when positioning, the registration list, and broker network activation are properly staged. Larger or more complex projects — or those entering a slower market — may take 9–12 months.

Is a physical sales gallery required for a pre-sale launch in Quebec? No regulation mandates a physical sales gallery. For projects under 40–50 units, a well-built project microsite with plan and pricing gating, supported by a private broker appointment process, can replace the gallery function entirely. Above that threshold, most lenders and buyers expect a physical sales environment for projects above $400,000 average unit price.

Does the broker who handles presale marketing need to be OACIQ-licensed? Yes. In Quebec, the sale of real estate — including pre-construction units — requires OACIQ licensing. Marketing material promoting the sale of specific units must be produced and overseen by a licensed broker or agency. Working with a marketing team that does not include a licensed broker creates compliance exposure for the developer.

Related Resources

Ready to build a presale strategy that gets your project to threshold?

Jeremy Soares — OACIQ H2731 | Contact

Pre-Sale Condo Marketing in Quebec: The Complete Strategy From Launch to 50% Sold