Ottawa Housing Market Report
- The average home sale price in Ottawa's housing market decreased by 1.0% year-over-year and increased by 1.3% month-over-month to $721,270 in May 2026.
- The composite benchmark price of a home in Ottawa was $635,300, decreasing 0.6% from May 2025 and up by 0.9% from last month.
- Single-family home average price decreased by 0.2% year-over-year to $869k.
- Townhouse average price decreased by 1% year-over-year to $564k.
- Apartment average price decreased by 12% year-over-year to $433k.
Ottawa Housing Market Overview
Ottawa Housing Market: Price Movements for May 2026
Benchmark Home Price | $635,300 | +0.9% 1-Month Change | -0.6% 1-Year Change |
Average Home Price | $721,270 | +1.3% 1-Month Change | -1.0% 1-Year Change |
Median Home Price | $660,000 | +1.5% 1-Month Change | -1.6% 1-Year Change |
Note: The MLS HPI benchmark price represents the value of a ‘typical’ home in the area.
Ottawa's housing market saw a seasonal lift in May 2026, but the market remained cautious compared with last year. Sales rose 21.0% from April to 1,616 transactions, while the average, benchmark, and median prices all moved higher month-over-month. However, annual momentum was softer: sales were down 10.6%, the average price was down 1.0%, and new listings were slightly lower than in May 2025. With active listings rising to 4,917 and months of supply easing to 3.0 months, Ottawa remained balanced rather than moving decisively in favour of sellers.
Home Prices
In May 2026, the average home price in Ottawa's housing market increased by 1.3% from the previous month to $721,270. The price reflects an annual decrease of 1.0%.
Meanwhile, the composite benchmark price of $635,300 in May 2026 was 0.6% lower than last year and 0.9% higher than in April. The benchmark price represents the estimated value of a typical home in Ottawa and is useful for tracking market trends because it is less affected by unusually high or low-priced sales than the average price. It is also noteworthy that the benchmark home price in Ottawa has increased by only about 2.5% over the past five years.
The median price represents the midpoint of all home sales, meaning half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. In May 2026, the median price was $660,000, down 1.6% year-over-year and up 1.5% month-over-month.
Sales and Inventory
The 1,616 sales in May 2026 were 10.6% lower than in May 2025 but 21.0% higher than last month. New listings increased by 2.9% from April, bringing the total to 3,351 new listings in May. New listings were 2.2% lower than in May 2025.
The sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) increased from 41.0% in April to 48.2% in May 2026. For reference, an SNLR of less than 40% indicates that the market favours buyers. An SNLR of 40% to 60% typically indicates that the market is balanced and doesn't tip in favour of sellers or buyers. When the SNLR exceeds 60%, the market is considered to favour sellers.
Another indicator of market conditions is months of inventory, which was 3.0 months in May 2026, down from April's 3.4 months. At this level, the market is considered balanced. Generally, a balanced market has three to five months of inventory, while less than three months signals a seller's market and more than five months indicates a buyer's market.
The market had 4,917 active listings, a 12.2% increase compared to last May and 8.4% higher than last month.
Additional Ratios
The sales-to-list price ratio in May 2026 was 98.7%, indicating that homes sold 1.3% below the listing price on average.
The median days on the market, representing the time listed properties remained available, was 20 days, down from 21 days in April 2026.
Property Types' Analysis
Looking at the different property types in Ottawa:
Single-family homes had an average price of $868,968, increasing by 0.7% monthly and decreasing by 0.2% annually. Sales of single-family homes reached 904, up 27.0% from April and down 8.6% from May 2025.
The average price of townhouses sold was $563,578, up 1.3% from last month and down 1.0% annually. Townhouse sales reached 481, up 17.3% monthly and down 14.4% from May 2025.
The average price for apartments in May 2026 was $433,165, up 1.7% from April and down 12.0% from May 2025. Apartment sales reached 203, up 6.8% month-over-month and down 12.1% from May 2025.
Reasoning
Ottawa's May results show a market with better near-term absorption but weaker annual momentum. The large month-over-month increase in sales suggests buyers were more active as the spring market progressed, and the rise in the SNLR to 48.2% means listings were absorbed more efficiently than in April. However, annual sales remained below last year's level, which suggests that the improvement was seasonal rather than a full return to stronger demand.
Borrowing conditions were more stable than during the rate-hike period of 2022 to 2024, with the Bank of Canada continuing to take a cautious approach to interest rates. That stability likely helped some buyers re-enter the market, but mortgage rates were still high enough to keep affordability constrained. Ottawa's government-oriented employment base continued to provide a demand floor, but the market was not immune to broader economic uncertainty and cautious household budgets.
At the same time, inventory continued to expand. Active listings rose to 4,917, and new listings were only modestly higher than in April, meaning buyers still had meaningful choice. The combination of a 48.2% SNLR, 3.0 months of supply, and a 98.7% sales-to-list price ratio points to a balanced market where sellers can benefit from spring demand, but overpricing still carries risk because homes are selling below asking on average.
Comparison
Ottawa's housing market remains much more affordable than Vancouver's housing market and Toronto's housing market. Ottawa's average home price was $721,270 in May 2026, compared with Vancouver's average price of $1,235,658 and Toronto's average price of $1,069,700.
Ottawa's housing market is more expensive than the Calgary housing market, where the city-wide average price was $665,695 in May 2026. Compared with Montreal's housing market, Ottawa's average home price of $721,270 was higher than Montreal's May 2026 average home price of $674,943. However, Ottawa remains far more affordable than Canada's most expensive major markets.
As most homes in Ottawa are well below the $1.5 million mark, they are eligible for a minimum down payment of 5% to 10% with CMHC insurance, allowing more buyers to compete for the inventory.
Home Prices in Ottawa
Ottawa Housing Market Statistics for All Property Types in May 2026
Average Sold Price and MLS HPI Benchmark Price
Total Transactions
Property Type Distribution
Market Overview for Single Family Homes in May 2026
Average Sold Price
Transactions
Market Overview for Townhouses in May 2026
Average Sold Price
Transactions
Market Overview for Apartments in May 2026
Average Sold Price
Transactions
Glossary and Definitions
MLS® Home Price Index (HPI): Developed by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the MLS® HPI is the most advanced tool for tracking price trends in the Canadian housing market. Rather than using simple average prices, which can be skewed by the mix of homes sold in a given month, the HPI tracks the value of a "Benchmark Home"—a property with typical attributes for its specific neighborhood. This allows for an accurate "apples-to-apples" comparison of home values across different regions and time periods, independent of a property's specific features or seasonal volatility. To ensure the index remains relevant, CREA performs an annual review every May to account for evolving market dynamics.
MLS® HPI Benchmark Price: This is the dollar value assigned to a "typical" home in a specific neighborhood. While the HPI itself is an index number used to track trends, the Benchmark Price translates that data into a real-world dollar figure, representing what a standard home with average features (like square footage, rooms, and lot size) would likely sell for in today's market.
Property types
Detached home: A detached home is your standard single-family home. It is a residential building that stands alone and is separately titled or legally a single unit.
Semi-detached home: A semi-detached home is similar to a detached home, except it shares a wall with another home. This pair of homes must make up an independent building and each should be separately titled or legally two separate units. There can only be two homes in a semi-detached building.
Townhouses: A townhouse is the middle between a detached/semi-detached home and a condo apartment. Like detached and semi-detached homes, they are often single-family units that have their own land and may be attached to other units. However, like condo apartments, they typically have to pay co-ownership fees for maintenance and may share some common features with their neighbors.
Condo apartment: This category includes all apartments and condominiums. These are complexes of residential units with common areas such as hallways, parking lots, stairwells, etc. They can be low-rise, mid-rise, or high-rise buildings. Unlike townhouses, there are no parts of the lot (the land of the building) where access is reserved for only one owner or occupant. There can be privately owned units and spaces inside the building.
Property Classes
Freeholds: A freehold is any property where the owner owns both the house and the land it is built on. Common freehold property types include: detached, semi-detached, some townhouses, and farmland.
Condominiums: A condominium or condo is any property where the owner owns the home (or unit) but shares ownership of the land and other improvements with a condominium corporation. Common condominium property types include condo apartments and some townhouses.
Leasehold: Leasehold describes the situation where different entities own the land and the structure built on the land. Owners of the buildings have leased the land and pay rent to their landlord while owning the building on the land.
Housing Markets Across Canada
Data sourced from the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Any analysis or commentary is the opinion of the analysts at WOWA.ca and should not be construed as investment advice. Please consult a licensed real estate professional before making a real estate investment decision. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA.
Disclaimer:
- Any analysis or commentary reflects the opinions of WOWA.ca analysts and should not be considered financial advice. Please consult a licensed professional before making any decisions.
- The calculators and content on this page are for general information only. WOWA® does not guarantee the accuracy and is not responsible for any consequences of using the calculator.
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- Interest rates are sourced from financial institutions' websites or provided to us directly. Real estate data is sourced from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and regional boards' websites and documents.
- The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service®, and associated logos are owned by CREA and identify services provided by its members.