Ottawa Home Sales Cool 5% in June, But Prices Keep Climbing

Ottawa's housing market eased into summer with a modest pullback in sales activity, even as prices in the capital continued to inch higher, according to the latest figures from the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB).

A total of 1,518 homes changed hands through the Multiple Listing Service in June, down 4.9 per cent from the same month a year earlier. OREB president Tami Eades said the dip is consistent with the city's typical transition out of the busy spring season, though she cautioned that citywide numbers can mask what's really happening block by block, noting that buyers and sellers should pay closer attention to local conditions than broad headlines.

The slowdown wasn't spread evenly across property types. Apartment-style condo sales fell especially hard, down 14 per cent year-over-year, while single-family home and townhouse sales held up comparatively well. Despite fewer transactions overall, prices in most segments kept rising: the average residential sale price across Ottawa reached $733,648 in June, a 1.3 per cent increase from a year earlier, while single-family detached homes averaged $880,467, up 1.2 per cent.

Not every category moved in the same direction. Townhouse prices slipped 3.1 per cent year-over-year to an average of $554,990, even as apartment prices climbed 3.2 per cent to $432,199, reflecting how tightly local supply and demand can vary from one housing type to the next within the same city.

Looking at the bigger picture, Ottawa has now recorded 6,969 home sales through the first half of 2026, a 6.1 per cent decline from the same period last year. OREB says the market remains fundamentally balanced, meaning neither buyers nor sellers hold a decisive advantage, though the pace of activity is still trailing 2025's stronger showing as the year reaches its midpoint. Separate national data from Royal LePage shows the aggregate price of a home in Ottawa is up 1.0 per cent year-over-year, reinforcing that the capital's prices have proven more resilient than its sales volumes.