What's Happening in the Ottawa Real Estate Market?

Ottawa Housing Market Remains Balanced as Summer Begins

Ottawa’s real estate market continued to show resilience in July 2026, transitioning from the busy spring season into a more typical summer pace. Home sales remained virtually unchanged compared to July 2025, while new listings declined slightly, helping improve the balance between supply and demand.

For the second time in three months, the number of new listings fell below year-ago levels, suggesting that the rapid growth in housing inventory seen earlier this year is beginning to moderate. While inventory remains higher than recent historical averages, market conditions continue to favour a balanced environment for both buyers and sellers.

Seasonally, sales declined 12.7% from June, considerably less than the typical June-to-July decrease of 20.7% seen over the past decade. Combined with fewer new listings entering the market, this resulted in stronger market absorption throughout July.

Price trends remained stable overall. The average sale price declined 1.6% year-over-year, while the median sale price held steady. This difference largely reflects the mix of homes that sold during the month rather than an overall decline in property values.

Market conditions continued to vary by property type and location. Ottawa’s suburban communities remained the strongest-performing areas, while the condominium apartment market—particularly in the downtown core—continued to experience softer demand.

Ottawa Residential Real Estate Activity – July 2026

A total of 1,325 homes sold through the Ottawa MLS® System in July 2026, representing a slight increase of 0.2% compared to July 2025. Although activity slowed from June, Ottawa retained more of its spring market momentum than is typical during the summer transition.

Performance continued to differ across housing types:

Single-family home sales increased 5.0% year-over-year to 714 transactions.
Townhome sales declined 4.1% to 417 sales.
Condominium apartment sales decreased 6.6% to 169 transactions.

While both townhomes and condos recorded fewer sales than last year, the declines were smaller than those seen in June, indicating that activity may be stabilizing.

Year-to-date, 8,288 homes have sold across Ottawa, down 5.2% compared to the same period in 2025. This represents an improvement from the 6.1% year-to-date decline reported at the end of June. Total residential sales volume now sits at approximately $5.8 billion, down 5.6% year-over-year.

Ottawa Home Prices & Market Balance

The average sale price in Ottawa reached $683,308 in July, a modest 1.6% decrease from July 2025. Meanwhile, the median sale price remained unchanged at $635,000.

Looking beyond average prices, the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI)—which adjusts for changes in the types of homes sold—showed even greater stability. The composite benchmark price was $634,000, down just 0.5% year-over-year and up 0.3% from June.

Market inventory continued to improve:

2,530 new listings entered the market in July, down 0.8% year-over-year.
Active listings totalled 4,678, up 9.3% from last year but down 6.1% compared to June.
The sales-to-new-listings ratio improved from 48.8% in June to 52.4% in July.
Months of inventory increased slightly from 3.3 to 3.5 months, remaining within balanced market territory.

Homes sold for an average of 97.8% of their asking price, compared to 98.0% a year earlier. Median days on market increased modestly from 24 to 28 days.

Overall, July reflected healthier absorption of new listings without signalling a significant shift toward either a buyer’s or seller’s market.

By Property Type

Single-family homes remained Ottawa’s strongest-performing segment:

Benchmark price increased 0.6% year-over-year.
Inventory rose slightly to 3.2 months.

Townhomes also showed improving balance:

Sales-to-new-listings ratio increased to 55.9%.
Inventory declined to 3.0 months.
Benchmark price remained 5.1% below July 2025 levels.

Condominium apartments continued to experience the softest conditions:

5.4 months of inventory.
Sales-to-new-listings ratio of 41.0%.
Median days on market increased to 41 days.
Benchmark price declined 5.2% year-over-year.

Ottawa Regional Market Comparison

Ottawa’s suburban communities continued to drive the majority of market activity, accounting for more than 70% of all residential sales in July.

Ottawa Suburb South posted one of the strongest performances:

Sales increased 8.0% year-over-year.
New listings declined 6.6%.
Sales-to-new-listings ratio improved to 55.7%.

Ottawa Suburb West recorded the strongest absorption among suburban markets:

Sales-to-new-listings ratio: 56.2%.
Inventory: 3.0 months.

Ottawa Suburb East also maintained balanced conditions:

Sales-to-new-listings ratio: 54.3%.
Inventory: 3.0 months.

Ottawa Centre remained the softest urban market:

Sales declined 8.3% year-over-year.
Sales-to-new-listings ratio measured 39.6%.
Inventory increased to 5.6 months.

Rural markets experienced mixed results, with sales increasing in Ottawa Rural South and Ottawa Rural West while declining in Ottawa Rural East. As always, rural statistics should be interpreted carefully due to lower transaction volumes.

Overall, July continued to highlight significant differences between neighbourhoods and housing types. Suburban communities generally remained balanced and active, while downtown condominiums continued to experience higher inventory levels. These variations reinforce the importance of working with a local real estate professional who understands the conditions affecting your specific neighbourhood.

Ottawa Real Estate Market Outlook

Economic conditions heading into the fall appear more stable than they did earlier this year. Statistics Canada reported that Canada’s real GDP increased by 0.3% in May, while the Bank of Canada noted that economic growth resumed during the second quarter.

The Bank of Canada also held its overnight interest rate at 2.25% in July, providing continued stability for buyers and homeowners.

Several trends identified last month continued in July:

New listings slowed.
Active inventory declined from June.
Market absorption improved.
Condominium apartments remained the softest segment.

As Ottawa moves beyond the traditional summer slowdown, the key question will be whether improving market absorption continues into the busy fall market.

For buyers, sellers, and homeowners alike, Ottawa’s housing market remains balanced, with opportunities available on both sides of the transaction. Success in today’s market continues to depend on accurate pricing, neighbourhood expertise, and understanding the unique conditions affecting each property type.