Nico Zentil, executive vice-president of capital markets at CBRE’s Ottawa office, says the National Capital Region saw a surge of investment activity in the first eight months of 2026 as marquee properties such as the EDC building at 150 Slater St. and the Carling Executive Centre changed hands.
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A prominent commercial real estate executive says he expects more institutional capital to start flowing into Ottawa from investors that see the city as a “safe haven.”
Nico Zentil, executive vice-president of capital markets at CBRE’s Ottawa office, says the National Capital Region saw a surge of investment activity in the first eight months of 2026 as marquee properties such as the EDC building at 150 Slater St. and the Carling Executive Centre changed hands.
“We’ve been able to get some really big deals done this year, which is great,” Zentil said in an interview on Wednesday. “We haven’t seen that happen in the last couple of years. I think it’s indicative of some confidence in the market.”
Both 150 Slater St. and the Carling Executive Centre were sold to private buyers. Ottawa-based Regional Group acquired the 18-storey tower on Slater Street from Manulife Investment Management in February for $143.5 million — the largest downtown office transaction in three years — while Montreal-based Brasswater bought the Carling Executive Centre from Crown Realty Partners for $53 million in May.
Zentil, who helped broker the Slater Street transaction, said a lack of competition from large institutional investors such as pension funds has opened the door for companies like Regional Group to be more active in the office market.
The veteran broker suggested that the window of opportunity for smaller investors may be closing, however.
“I’m not surprised that in 2026 we saw a number of these types of deals done because there was an opportunity to get some attractive pricing metrics that will no longer be there in the future,” he explained. “I don’t know if that’s three months, six months or nine months, but signs are emerging in a palpable way that Canada is a good place to invest capital … Ottawa is starting to return back to favour, which is nice.”
While foreign and private Canadian investors accounted for most of the activity in the first half of the year, Zentil said he believes it’s only a matter of time until institutional buyers jump back into the fray.
“We’ve got some geopolitical tension and uncertainty out there, but I think (institutional) investors have been sidelined for a while,” he said. “It seems like we’ve operated in an environment where we’re just constantly having to navigate through issues. I think a lot of investors have said, ‘Look, this isn’t going to be a one-solve kind of result here. We’re just going to have to figure out how to operate within the context of the current environment, and we’re sick of sitting on the sidelines.’
“We’ve seen a proliferation of private capital fill a void that was created by some of the institutions not being as active as they historically were, and now we’re seeing the institutions coming back and starting to be very active again in all asset classes, irrespective of some uncertainty out there with bonds, trade (issues) and war, et cetera … We’re starting to see the institutions get curious again here.”
A report from CBRE last week said investment in Ottawa commercial real estate properties nearly doubled in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, with steep gains in all sectors except retail and hotels.
Multi-residential market booming
The multi-family market led the way with total transactions of $386.6 million, up 86 per cent from a year ago.
CBRE helped broker the city’s two largest multi-residential deals so far in 2026, the $72-million acquisition by Lankin Investments of the 23-storey, 258-unit Riversides apartment complex on Lycée Place from GWL Realty Advisors in May, and Minto’s sale of more than 800 residential units in Ottawa’s Parkwood Hills neighbourhood to real estate investment firm Woodland Capital and property developer Forum, which closed last week.
Lankin Investments is based in Woodbridge, just north of Toronto, while Woodland Capital is headquartered in Montreal and Forum has offices in Edmonton, Burlington and Westmount, Que.
Zentil said Ottawa, with its strong housing market and stable, government-anchored economy, has plenty of appeal for investors from other parts of the country.
“There’s some attractive debt opportunities out there with some of the structured programs that CMHC can offer,” he added. “The federal government has deemed housing a priority and as a result has tried to make it more favourable to be able to buy multi-family and build multi-family. You can get some favourable CMHC-insured financing, which certainly helps. I think it’s certainly an asset class that’s in favour and I don’t see it not continuing to be in favour.”
The office market also enjoyed a robust second quarter, with transaction volumes up more than 800 per cent from the previous year. Zentil said he expects that momentum to continue through the rest of 2026.
“We’re seeing a lot of groups wanting to dip their toes back into the water looking at (acquiring) office (properties),” he said. “We could see another couple of deals get done. It will just really depend on timing.”
The most newsworthy retail investment so far in 2026 is Claridge Homes’ acquisition of the former Hudson’s Bay store on Rideau Street, another deal brokered by CBRE.
Claridge, one of Ottawa’s largest developers, has been mum about its plans for the 330,000-square-foot building. In an email to OBJ on Wednesday, Claridge chief financial officer Neil Malhotra said the company is “in the process of submitting a planning application” for the site, but provided no further details.
Zentil said he’s looking forward to seeing what Claridge does with the high-profile property across from the Rideau Centre, describing the local firm as “probably the best buyer we could have hoped for for that building.”
“I think they’re going to end up likely doing something spectacular there that’s going to benefit the city and certainly the Rideau Street corridor,” he added. “I think the city got lucky with Claridge being the buyer there. I think it’s nice that an Ottawa-based company is going to take that property from its current state (to) somewhere that’ll be exciting and transformative for the city. I think it’s a win-win for everyone.”
