While home sales remained steady across Ottawa this summer, new statistics show a sharp downward trend in the market last month. The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) says a total of 1,002 homes were sold in Ottawa in August, down 18.6 per cent from the same month last year. Sales also declined 24.4 per cent from July, when 1,325 homes were sold. Last month’s total tied 2022 for the lowest sales count in August since 2016. The OREB says the slowdown was not driven by a new influx of supply. Despite a decline in new listings and active listings from July, the board says active inventory remains at its highest level since August 2016. “New listings and active listings both declined from July, but sales fell much faster, weakening the relationship between available supply and demand. Listing activity also suggests that some sellers may be pausing or reassessing their plans, rather than proceeding under current conditions,” the OREB says. It comes after home sales remained relatively steady summer during the typical seasonal housing market slowdown. Sales in July were virtually unchanged from a year earlier. The August sales decline was reflected across all types of properties. Year over year, single-family home sales fell 16.3 per cent, townhome sales fell 19.9 per cent and apartment sales fell 22.3 per cent. Despite the slowdown, prices remained relatively stable. The average home sale price was $633,253 in August, up 0.3 per cent from a year earlier and 0.7 per cent from July. The OREB say August presents a softer picture heading into the fall market, with “mixed indicators of market strength and weakness.” “Prices remained relatively steady despite the pullback in sales, which tells us this is not a simple story of the market moving uniformly in one direction,” said OREB president Tami Eades in a news release. “Buyers are seeing less competitive conditions and have more time to make decisions, while sellers are facing more competition and may need to be thoughtful about pricing and positioning their homes for the current market. One month does not establish a trend, but the shift in sales and inventory is something we’ll be watching closely as we head into the fall market.” A total of 9,283 homes have sold in Ottawa so far this year, a decrease of 6.9 per cent from the same period in 2025.
