Updated with June 2026 OREB data. The market remains balanced, but the divide between property types is becoming the defining story of 2026.
Ottawa's real estate market remained steady through June, with activity easing in line with typical early-summer patterns. The headline numbers tell a balanced market story — but beneath the surface, conditions are diverging meaningfully between single-family homes, townhouses, and condos. That divide is the most important thing to understand about where things stand heading into the second half of 2026.
June 2026: What the Numbers Say
According to the OREB's July 6, 2026 market update, 1,518 homes sold in June — down 4.9% from June 2025, and slightly lower than May's 1,616. That month-over-month easing is consistent with the normal spring-to-summer transition, not a signal of deteriorating demand. The average residential sale price rose to $733,648, up 1.3% year over year, while the median of $655,000 was down 1.3% — a split that reflects the influence of property mix on the headline average.
"The key story isn't simply higher inventory — it's how well demand continues to absorb that supply. Ottawa remains a fundamentally balanced market, but we're seeing clear differences emerge between property types and neighbourhoods. Buyers and sellers should focus less on citywide headlines and more on local market conditions."
Year-to-date, 6,969 homes have sold in Ottawa — down 6.1% from the same period in 2025 — with total dollar volume of $4.9 billion, down 6.2% year over year. The first half of 2026 closes with a market that remains active but consistently below last year's sales pace.
— Tami Eades, President, Ottawa Real Estate Board, July 6, 2026
The Market Is Not Moving as One
The property-type divide that built through the spring has continued into summer. Single-family demand has been steadier, while townhomes and especially apartments have carried more of the market softness. That pattern showed up clearly in June's sales and inventory numbers.
| Property Type | Sales (June) | Sales YOY | Months of Inventory | HPI Benchmark YOY | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-Family | 879 | -1.8% | 2.8 | -0.7% | Most Stable |
| Townhouse | 429 | -7.3% | 3.2 | -3.9% | Adjusting |
| Apartment / Condo | 178 | -14.0% | 5.3 | -6.0% | Most Pressure |
Single-Family
Single-family homes remain the most stable segment. Sales were down just 1.8% year over year — the smallest decline of any property type — and months of inventory at 2.8 is the tightest among the three segments. The HPI benchmark is down only 0.7% year over year, and single-family properties posted the strongest sale-to-list ratio in June. In desirable suburban neighbourhoods, well-priced detached homes are still moving with relatively limited concessions.
Townhouses
Townhomes continued to adjust as listings accumulated through the spring and into summer. Active inventory is up 27.6% from last June, and months of inventory has risen to 3.2. Sales fell 7.3% year over year. The HPI benchmark is down 3.9% from June 2025. Pricing hasn't collapsed, but the direction of the trend is clear — and buyers in this segment have meaningfully more negotiating room than they did a year ago.
Apartments & Condos
Apartments remain the softest segment. With 5.3 months of inventory, sales down 14.0% year over year, and the HPI benchmark down 6.0%, this is the part of the market feeling the most pressure. That said, June does not point to a market-wide correction — the weakness is concentrated in condos, not spread across Ottawa as a whole. With only 37 completed and unabsorbed apartment units reported in May, this is a story of slower absorption, not oversupply.
The composite benchmark price was down 1.3% year over year — but that average conceals a -0.7% move in single-family and a -6.0% move in apartments. Where you are in the market matters far more than the citywide headline right now.
1. Balanced Market — But More Divided Beneath the Surface
With a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 48.8% and 3.3 months of inventory, Ottawa remains in balanced market territory. Importantly, the additional supply has not translated into a broad weakening in transaction conditions — the sale-to-list ratio held at 98.5%, unchanged from June 2025, and median days on market rose only modestly from 19 to 22 days. Ottawa is seeing more pricing discipline, not a complete shift in market character.
Accurate pricing remains critical. At 98.5% sale-to-list and 22 median days on market, the market is rewarding well-priced listings and penalizing overpriced ones. Elevated inventory means buyers have options — and they're using them.
Supply continues to give you more choice than in recent years, particularly in the condo and townhome segments. Single-family homes in strong suburban neighbourhoods remain the most competitive part of the market — patience and preparation pay off there more than anywhere else.
2. Prices: A Tale of Two Markets
June's price story was about how supply is being absorbed differently across segments. The average residential sale price of $733,648 was up 1.3% year over year — but the median of $655,000 was down 1.3%, and the HPI composite benchmark fell 1.3% year over year. The divergence between the average and the benchmark reflects the influence of property mix: more higher-priced single-family sales pulling the average up, while benchmark pricing — which adjusts for mix — tells a softer story.
"June does not point to a market-wide price correction. It points to a balanced market where elevated supply is creating more pricing pressure — and where the clearest signs of that pressure are concentrated in townhomes and apartments."
For buyers, this means the negotiating environment varies enormously depending on what you're buying. For sellers, it means your comparables need to be drawn from your specific segment and submarket — not the city average.
3. Economy and Interest Rates
The economic backdrop in June was less gloomy than in May, leading to some guarded optimism. The Bank of Canada held its policy rate in June, and Statistics Canada reported that real GDP grew in April after contracting in March. Uncertainty around North American trade policy continues to weigh on the broader outlook — but the worst-case economic scenarios that were weighing on buyer confidence earlier in the year appear to have moderated somewhat.
Ottawa's government employment base continues to provide a degree of insulation from national economic volatility. The market's relative stability — a 98.5% sale-to-list ratio, balanced inventory — reflects that underlying demand foundation, even as consumer caution persists.
4. The Supply Picture — and What's Coming
CMHC's latest data adds important context to the supply story. Ottawa had 17,212 housing units under construction in May — with nearly 14,000 of those apartment units. Combined with national demographic data pointing to slower population growth and fewer non-permanent residents, the possibility of a future influx of apartment-style units into the market is worth watching.
That said, this is not an immediate oversupply concern. Completed and unabsorbed apartment inventory remains low — just 37 units reported in May. The rental picture is also nuanced: CMHC reported a 3.0% primary rental vacancy rate in Ottawa in 2025, while the condo rental vacancy rate was much tighter at 0.6%. The apartment outlook is a question of how resale demand, rental demand, investor activity, and new completions interact over time — not a simple story of too much supply.
For condo investors and buyers in the apartment segment, monitoring the pace of project completions and absorption will matter more over the next 12–18 months than any single month of sales data.
What Buyers Should Do in 2026
- 1 Get financing in order. The sale-to-list ratio of 98.5% means well-priced homes are still selling close to asking. Pre-approval keeps you competitive when the right property appears — and with more choice in the market, being ready matters as much as ever.
- 2 Know which market you're actually buying in. Single-family buyers face tighter conditions than condo buyers. At 2.8 months of inventory versus 5.3, these are genuinely different markets requiring different strategies and expectations.
- 3 Use elevated inventory to your advantage — selectively. More choice is an opportunity to be thorough, not an invitation to low-ball everything. The homes that are priced well are still moving in 22 days. The ones sitting are usually overpriced.
- 4 Focus on micro-market conditions, not city averages. Ottawa Suburb West showed the firmest absorption in June with the lowest months of inventory among suburban submarkets. Ottawa Rural East posted year-over-year sales growth. The city is not one market right now.
What Sellers Should Do in 2026
- 1 Price from current comps, not city headlines. The average price is up 1.3% year over year — but the benchmark is down 1.3%, and your segment may be doing something different entirely. Pricing needs to reflect your specific property type and neighbourhood, not the citywide number.
- 2 Presentation is a competitive advantage. Active listings continue to rise. Buyers have options. High-quality photography, staging, and marketing separate listings that sell quickly from listings that sit.
- 3 Understand your position in the segment divide. Single-family sellers have considerably more leverage than townhome or condo sellers in June's data. That reality should shape your pricing strategy, your timeline expectations, and what conditions you're prepared to accept.
- 4 The summer market is active — use it. June showed a steady market with reasonable absorption. Waiting for fall introduces more uncertainty and more competition. Sellers who are ready are better positioned to act now than to defer.
The Bottom Line
Ottawa's market through the first half of 2026 can be summarized in one sentence: balanced overall, but increasingly divided by property type. Single-family homes remain the most resilient segment — prices are nearly flat year over year, inventory is manageable, and sale-to-list ratios are strong. Townhomes are adjusting gradually. Apartments are under the most pressure, with inventory at 5.3 months and benchmark prices down 6.0% year over year.
For buyers and sellers, the lesson is the same: citywide averages are a starting point, not a strategy. What matters is understanding the specific conditions in your segment and your neighbourhood — and working with someone who does.
Thinking About Buying or Selling in 2026?
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