Ottawa Housing Market Report
- The average home sale price in Ottawa's housing market decreased by 1.1% year-over-year and increased by 3.3% month-over-month to $662,773 in February 2026.
- The composite benchmark price of a home in Ottawa was $615,400, decreasing 1.3% from February 2025 and up by 1.4% from last month.
- Single-family home average price increased by 1.3% year-over-year to $831k.
- Townhouse average price decreased by 7% year-over-year to $540k.
- Apartment average price decreased by 0.9% year-over-year to $429k.
Ottawa Housing Market Overview
Ottawa Housing Market: Price Movements for February 2026
Benchmark Home Price | $615,400 | +1.4% 1-Month Change | -1.3% 1-Year Change |
Average Home Price | $662,773 | +3.3% 1-Month Change | -1.1% 1-Year Change |
Median Home Price | $615,450 | +0.1% 1-Month Change | -3.1% 1-Year Change |
Note: The MLS HPI benchmark price represents the value of a ‘typical’ home in the area.
All measures of home prices indicate that while Ottawa's housing market saw a modest month-over-month increase in February 2026 compared to January, prices remain lower on a year-over-year basis. Although the market continues to adjust to shifting buyer expectations, Ottawa has shown greater resilience than other major Ontario markets, such as the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, where price declines have been more pronounced.
Home Prices
In February 2026, the average home price in Ottawa's housing market increased by 3.3% from the previous month to $662,773. The price reflects an annual decrease of 1.1%. It is also noteworthy that the average home price in Ottawa has increased by only 4% in the past five years.
Meanwhile, the composite benchmark price of $615,400 in February 2026 was 1.3% lower than last year and 1.4% higher than in January. A benchmark price tracks the price of a typical property in the city; therefore, changes in the benchmark price are often a better indicator of where home prices are headed than the average price. Benchmark prices can also be more useful when comparing home prices in different cities.
The median price often offers a less skewed view of the market by reducing the influence of outliers. In February 2026, the median price was $615,450, representing a 3.1% year-over-year decrease and a 0.1% month-over-month increase.
Sales and Inventory
The 780 sales were 3.6% lower than in February 2025 and 28% higher than last month. On the other hand, there was a 3.9% increase in new listings from last month, bringing the total to 1,582 new listings in February. The new listings were 7.8% lower than in February 2025.
The sales-to-new listings ratio (SNLR) increased from 40% in January to 49% in February 2026. For reference, an SNLR of less than 40% indicates that the market favours buyers. An SNLR of 40%—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 3.8 months in February 2026, higher than last February's 3.1 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 2,928 active listings, a 21.6% decrease compared to last February and 9.5% higher than last month.
Additional Ratios
The sales-to-list price ratio in February 2026 was 97.9%, indicating that homes sold 2.1% below the listing price on average.
The median days on the market, representing the time listed properties remained available, was 24 days, five days higher than 19 days in February 2025.
Property Types’ Analysis
Looking at the different property types in Ottawa,
Single-family homes had an average price of $830,951, increasing by 1.3% annually.
The average price of townhouses sold was $539,639, down 7% from last year.
The average price for apartments in February 2026 was $428,538, down 0.9% annually.
Reasoning
Mortgage rates play a crucial role in determining borrowing costs, directly influencing home affordability. The recent rate cuts by the Bank of Canada (BoC) have eased some of the financial burden on homebuyers. In March 2026, the Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% and is likely to pause further rate cuts for now. Meanwhile, current mortgage rates are still much higher than those seen during the pandemic, making it more challenging for some buyers to qualify under the mortgage stress test.
It is also noteworthy that Ottawa’s stable, government-driven job market has historically kept housing demand steadier than in cities like Toronto, where prices and sales have been far more volatile. Still, rising inventory and declining sales show that Ottawa is not entirely insulated from the broader cooling affecting major real estate markets across Canada.
Comparison
Ottawa's housing market is much more affordable than Vancouver's housing market and Toronto's housing market, which had benchmark home prices of $1,100,300 and $938,800 in comparison to Ottawa's benchmark price of $615,400 in February 2026. Ottawa's housing market is also significantly cheaper than other markets in Ontario, such as Mississauga's housing market and Brampton's housing market and slightly cheaper than Hamilton's housing market. Looking at cities outside Ontario and B.C., Ottawa's housing market is slightly more expensive than the Montreal housing market and the Calgary housing market. 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 February 2026
Average Sold Price and MLS HPI Benchmark Price
Total Transactions
Property Type Distribution
Market Overview for Single Family Homes in February 2026
Average Sold Price
Transactions
Market Overview for Townhouses in February 2026
Average Sold Price
Transactions
Market Overview for Apartments in February 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.
Strata Insurance: Strata insurance is insurance used by a strata like a condominium to cover damages to common areas and assets and liability to the strata. It can also include fixtures built or installed as part of the original construction of each unit, even though these may not be common structures. The insurance can cover:
- Buildings and structures associated with the strata including common areas such as the roof, parking garages, driveways, gyms, pools, etc.
- Liability for any property damage or bodily injury suffered on strata property
- Any fixtures that are part of the "standard unit" or original construction of each unit
Strata insurance does not usually include personal items and appliances that are part of a condo unit. It also does not cover the damages made by individual unit owners, such as in the case of water damage caused by a unit owner. These are usually covered by personal condo insurance.
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.
Plexes are multi-story buildings with two to four individual units, usually one on each floor. They are a mainstay in Montreal and other cities in Quebec. Each unit is usually individually accessible via an external entrance with higher floors connected by staircases.
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.