The trend of lower year-over-year sales continued in Ottawa in October with a 10.7 per cent decline, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB). The OREB says a total of 1,048 residential properties sold through the MLS system in Ottawa last month. Home sales are down 7.3 per cent overall in the first 10 months of the year compared to January to October 2025. The October figures do mark a 3.8 per cent increase from sales in September 2026, the OREB says, prompting some “cautious optimism” heading into the winter. “October brought some welcome relief for sellers, with a modest increase in sales and fewer new listings helping to ease some of the pressure we’ve seen in recent months,” said OREB president Tami Eades in a news release. “However, buyers continue to have considerable choice, and market conditions remain softer than a year ago. As we head into winter, employment uncertainty, borrowing costs and housing policy will continue to influence buyer confidence and market activity. We’ll be watching closely to see whether October’s improvement carries through into the coming months.” Apartment sales saw the biggest year-over-year decline, dropping 23.3 per cent with just 115 sales in October. Single-family home sales fell 12.5 per cent to 558 while townhouse sales dropped 3 per cent to 350. There were 2,382 new listings last month, down 1.2 per cent from October 2025 and down 18.6 per cent from September 2026. The OREB says, however, that was the third-highest October count since 2016 and was well above the 10-year average of 1,889 new listings. Sale prices down across the board The OREB says the average residential sale price in October was $678,512, down 4.5 per cent from one year ago, and down 1 per cent from September. The median price dropped 3.9 per cent year over year to $622,000. The benchmark price for single-family homes in October was $699,200, down 0.8 per cent year over year. Townhouses sold for a benchmark of $539,800, down 4.3 per cent. Apartments, again, saw the biggest decline, with a 5.3 per cent price drop to a benchmark price of $377,500. Apartments have been trending downward for most of the year. Eyes on the federal budget The OREB says the federal budget being released Thursday will be watched closely, given that employment remains a key concern for Ottawa heading into the winter. “Further details on staffing may help households assess their employment outlook, while housing measures could affect their ability to buy,” the OREB says. “The Canadian Real Estate Association’s pre-budget submission called for changes to housing finance and mortgage insurance, including support for ownership of individual units in small multiplexes. Whether the government adopts those proposals will be another area to watch.” The federal government has been working to reduce the size of the federal public service, one of the key employers in the capital. The 2025 budget outlined plans to cut 16,000 full-time equivalent positions through the Comprehensive Expenditure Review, with another 12,000 positions, including 350 executive positions, eliminated through attrition and early retirement packages. The latest figures from the Treasury Board of Canada show there were 146,149 federal employees in the National Capital Region at the end of March 2026, down from 153,979 in 2025. Those figures include 111,200 employees in Ottawa in 2026 in both the core public administration and separate agencies, down from 116,748 in 2025. Earlier this month, the Treasury Board said 2,555 public servants volunteered to leave the federal public service and were accepted for voluntary departure. A total of 19,274 employees are eligible for the voluntary departure program. The 2026 budget says the federal government is on track to reduce the size of the public service by 10 per cent by 2029 and does not outline any further job cuts across government departments.
