Ottawa’s housing market is holding its ground despite broader slowdowns, with bidding wars erupting in some of the top neighbourhoods, even as overall inventory climbs to its highest level in seven years.

John King, license partner and broker at Engel & Völkers Ottawa, coined the term “microbursts” to describe these pockets of intense activity in the city’s most desirable areas, like Westboro, the Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Golden Triangle, Wellington Village, and Highland Park, among others.  

“If a home is priced right, you can still see multiple offers,” King said. “It’s really location and price-sensitive.”

 

Luxury market trending up

 

According to Engel & Völkers’ 2025 mid-year Canadian Luxury Real Estate Market Report, properties priced between $1 million and $1.99 million accounted for 10.8 per cent of all real estate transactions in Ottawa in the first half of the year, up from 8.6 per cent in the same period last year. 

As of the end of June, total residential and condo sales in the $1 million-plus segment were up 31.2 per cent year-over- year, underscoring Ottawa’s role as one of Canada’s most “resilient luxury markets amid broader national volatility,” reads the report.

Still, notes Engel & Völkers, buyers remained somewhat cautious. 

“Unlike the bidding wars of recent years, 2025 saw extended decision timelines and increased scrutiny of floor plans, renovation needs and neighbourhood trends,” reads the report.

Ottawa Real Estate Board backs up the case for a strong luxury market, with homes over $1 million up 31 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Those homes represent 11 per cent of all Ottawa sales, up from nine per cent a year earlier. However, inventory has risen 60 per cent, meaning “there is a lot more competition for luxury buyers than ever before,” King said.

 

‘Sellers can still call the shots’

 

Robert Hogue, assistant chief economist at RBC, says Ottawa’s steadiness comes from a tighter balance between supply and demand than in other major Canadian centres. “It has seen an increase in supply, but nowhere as much as markets like Toronto or even Vancouver,” he said. “Sellers can still call the shots … that’s why we’re seeing prices remaining relatively resilient in Ottawa compared to other markets.”

While inventory has risen, Hogue described the shift as a market correction after the extremely tight conditions of the past few years. He linked it to the sharp interest rate hikes between 2022 and 2024, which slowed demand and lengthened selling times. “This has been starting to reverse since the Bank of Canada’s cut rates, but not entirely.”

The broader economy is also a factor, he said. “Ottawa has been a bit more … resilient in its labour market, but it’s softened as well,” Hogue said. Consumer confidence, he added, has been challenged by a slower Canadian economy and the trade dispute with the U.S.

 

What’s in store for the rest of the year?

 

Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, King said he expects “more of the same” with strong competition in desirable neighbourhoods, increased bargaining power for buyers, and an emphasis on correct pricing. “You’ve got to be priced right, you’ve got to be marketed properly, and you’ve got to be well represented to get the people in there,” he said.