Ottawa March 2024 Market Overview

Commercial and Industrial

According to AltusThe commercial and industrial sectors suffered setbacks in Q4 2023. The multi-family sector saw a slight decline of 15% over the past year, with $898 millions in total transaction volume. The office sector saw a greater decline with $527 million of transactions, down 34% from the previous year. The retail sector also saw a significant drop with $197 million transactions, a 51% decline year-over-year. Ottawa’s industrial sector suffered the most, with transaction volume plummeting by 75% year-over-year to just $210 million.

Rentals

According to Zumper as of March 2024 the median rentAll property types and all bedroom counts are $2,100. 

The CMHC Rental Market Report for January 2024The Ontario portion of Ottawa Gatineau is experiencing a tight rental market. In 2023 there was a shortage of available units, with a vacancy ratio of just 2.1%. Demand increased as well, despite the increase in supply. This vacancy is close to historical norms. However, it was accompanied with a significant increase of rental costs.

As was expected, the areas with the lowest rental rates had fewer available units. The vacancy rate dropped the most in neighbourhoods in the east. The vacancy rates for two-bedroom apartment rents under $750 were 0.0%. The average rent for this type of apartment rose by 4.0%. Condo vacancy rate remained low at just 0.4%. It has been under 1% for the past year.

The rental market remained under pressure because of the demand for purpose-built apartments. 2023’s high international migration to the province, including immigrants and non-permanent residents, heightened this market demand. In addition, the growing challenges associated with HomeownershipThe high cost of housing and the mortgage rates have encouraged many households to rent, or to stay in their current rental. This has increased the demand.

Residential

You can also find out more about the following: March 2024Home sales in March 2023 were 1,165 units, up 10%. They remained below the five-year and 10-year averages of March by 21.5%, respectively. The average selling price increased to $682.078, a 5.1% rise from March 2023. The year-to date average reached $659.828, an increase of 3.2% over the first three months in 2023. Total home sales for March 2024 were $794.6 Million, an increase of 15.6% over March 2023. New residential listings also increased 13.5% from March 2023 to 2,074 listings. They remained below the five-year-average and the ten-year-average. By the end March 2024, active listings for residential properties had increased by 18.3% since March 2023. This amounted to 2,543 homes. The market is still relatively tight, despite the fact that the months of inventory are slightly higher than in March 2023.