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Ottawa home sales dip in October as OREB hopes rate cut triggers ‘active spring market’

November 7, 2025

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Ottawa home sales dipped slightly in October compared with a year earlier, but the city’s real estate board says it’s hopeful that the Bank of Canada’s recent decision to cut interest rates will provide “additional relief” for would-be buyers and spark a market revival. The Ottawa Real Estate Board says 1,177 homes were sold in the city last month, a 1.2 per cent drop from the 1,191 properties that changed hands in October 2024. Meanwhile, the average selling price of $709,002 in September was up 5.7 per cent year-over-year, “suggesting that underlying demand remains resilient,” OREB said in a news release on Friday. The composite benchmark price in Ottawa was $622,700 in October, a 0.7 per cent increase from a year ago. OREB said there were 2,404 new listings in October, up 13.4 per cent from the same period a year ago but down 15.1 per cent from September. Active listings fell 3.6 per cent from the previous month to 4,232. “While inventory levels remain higher than in recent years, this familiar fall decrease in active listings suggests that the trend towards elevated supply levels may be starting to stabilize, still within a balanced market range,” the board said. “Reinforcing that trend, the months of inventory measure eased from 4.0 to 3.6, indicating a modest tightening in the balance between buyers and sellers as the fall market settled.” OREB’s latest report comes just over a week after the Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25 per cent. OREB said the rate cut provides “some optimism for an active spring market.” However, the board noted that the central bank suggested it’s probably done cutting rates for now. OREB also said it will be closely watching the impact of planned public service job cuts announced in this week’s federal budget, explaining that reductions in the size of the federal workforce “have historically affected Ottawa’s housing market given the city’s large federal employment base.” Still, the board said the resale housing market remains “fundamentally healthy” as 2025 winds down. “Ottawa’s market continues to demonstrate balance and resilience,” OREB president Paul Czan said in a statement. “We’re seeing modest growth in sales activity, stable pricing, and a seasonal easing of elevated inventory levels. The recent rate adjustments provide optimism for the coming months, but economic uncertainty looms, and buyers and sellers remain cautious, watching how broader economic factors play out. The current environment points to a steady market rather than a rapid shift in either direction.”