Continuing a months-long trend, slow sales hobbled the October 2026 resale market, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s latest report. The board pointed to everything from a recent hike in borrowing costs to strong sales of new-build homes (thanks to federal and provincial tax relief measures) as contributing to the weak market.
Realtors sold 1,048 homes last month through the board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS), up almost four per cent from September but down 10.7 per cent from October 2025. Sales of all housing types — townhomes, singles and condo apartments — declined, with apartments sliding more than 23 per cent, part of a long-running trend in Ottawa.
Through the first 10 months of 2026, 11,335 properties sold, down more than seven per cent from the same period in 2025, the board reported.
Prices and listings
The average residential sale price last month was $678,512, down 4.5 per cent from a year earlier and marginally lower than in September.
Single-family homes sold for an average of $823,204, townhomes averaged $528,732 and condo apartments sold for $430,733. The average price of all housing types slipped last month.
Active listings totalled 4,582, down almost five per cent from September but up 6.4 per cent from October 2025. At the same time, new listings declined 18.6 per cent. Both measures indicated “softer conditions” than the same month last year, the board noted.
Months of inventory were also down in October, and the declines in active listings and inventory, together with the small sales increase compared to September, mean cautious optimism heading into winter, said the board’s report.
“As we head into winter, employment uncertainty, borrowing costs and housing policy will continue to influence buyer confidence and market activity,” said board president Tami Eades in a statement. “We’ll be watching closely to see whether October’s improvement carries through into the coming months.”
Response to federal budget
In a separate statement, OREB said it “welcomes several housing measures announced in the 2026 federal budget that aim to increase housing supply, improve access to construction financing, and reduce barriers to building new homes across Canada.”
Those measures include improving mortgage financing options for missing middle housing, including triplexes, fourplexes and smaller multi-unit residential buildings, which the board says complement the City of Ottawa’s move to increase housing supply through zoning bylaw reform.
The board also agrees with such budget proposals as $100 million over three years to speed up development approvals through electronic permitting and artificial intelligence.
