The Ottawa Real Estate Brief – July 2026

This month’s market, in five minutes.

In brief: Ottawa’s housing market held its balanced footing in June, though the headline numbers mask a meaningful divide. This is less one market and more three running in parallel. Single-family homes continue to show the most resilience. Townhomes are adjusting as supply builds. Apartment-style properties remain the softest segment, with the steepest benchmark price declines and five-plus months of inventory. Supply is elevated by recent standards, but being absorbed at a pace consistent with balance — not a correction.

Total Sales Volume

In June, 1,518 homes sold through the MLS® System in Ottawa, a 4.9% decrease compared to June 2025. The month-over-month dip from May’s 1,616 is entirely in line with the normal transition from the spring market into summer. 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. Ottawa remains an active market, but it is running below last year’s pace across the board. What that means in practical terms: buyers have more inventory to choose from, more time to decide, and less competition than this time last year. Sellers are operating in a market that rewards preparation and accurate pricing over speed.

Benchmark Prices by Property Type

The average residential sale price in June was $733,648, up 1.3% year over year. The median price was $655,000, down 1.3% — a divergence that reflects higher-priced transactions pulling the average upward. OREB’s MLS® Home Price Index (HPI), which controls for changes in the mix of homes sold, provides the clearest read on underlying price direction:

Single-family homes are the clear anchor. A benchmark decline of less than one percent over twelve months tells you that demand for this property type is keeping pace with available supply. Townhomes are softening more noticeably — active inventory rose 27.6% from last June, and that extra supply is working its way through pricing. Apartments have seen the steepest benchmark decline, and the inventory picture explains why. Wherever supply accumulates fastest, prices feel it first.

Months of Inventory

Months of inventory tells you where prices are likely to head next. Lower supply means sellers hold leverage; higher supply shifts that balance toward buyers. Here is where each segment stands:

Ottawa’s overall months of inventory reached 3.3 in June, up from 2.8 a year ago — consistent with balanced conditions citywide. But the splits above are where the real signals live. Single-family at 2.8 months still favours sellers, which is why benchmark prices there have barely moved. Condos at 5.3 months are a buyer’s market, full stop — and pricing in that segment already reflects it. Townhomes sit in the middle, but with active supply up sharply year over year, that window is narrowing. Sellers in that segment have less room to start high and adjust.

Here is my take on what this means for buyers and sellers right now:

For sellers: The market you are selling into depends almost entirely on what you are selling. Single-family homeowners in Ottawa are in a position of relative strength — inventory is low, demand is steady, and a well-priced home should produce a solid result. Townhome sellers need to be realistic: supply is building, buyers have options, and overpricing at the start does not wait — it compounds. Condo sellers are operating in a true buyer’s market, and pricing strategy needs to reflect that honestly from the first day on market.

For buyers: The clearest opportunity right now is in the apartment and condo space, where five-plus months of inventory gives you time, selection, and negotiating room that simply did not exist eighteen months ago. In the single-family segment, competition is steadier — but it is nowhere near the frenzied conditions of 2023 and 2024. This is a market where doing your homework pays off more than moving fast.

If you want to know what the market means specifically for your property or your search, that is where the real analysis happens.

And there you go, this month’s Ottawa real estate market update, delivered to you in five minutes.

Best,

Chris Hendricks,

REALTOR®, Real Estate Broker

P.S. Curious what your home is worth in today’s market? I offer a no-obligation home evaluation — just a clear picture of where you stand, no pressure. Request yours here: https://chrishendricks.ca/ottawa-home-evaluation-web/