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Define the area before applying its numbers
This report uses the exact feed label “Orleans - Cumberland and Area.” It should not be read as a report for every Orléans address, for Cumberland village alone or for a precisely mapped municipal neighbourhood. Those would require verified boundaries and a fresh geographic selection. Within this broad provider label, detached and freehold-townhouse samples are large enough to support separate quarterly reporting and a useful comparison of the choices buyers were making.
| Period | Home type | Valid prices (n) | Median price | Middle half of prices | Median DOM | Valid DOM (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | Freehold townhouse | 113 | $570,000 | $543,500–$620,000 | 19 | 113 |
| Q2 2026 | Single detached | 204 | $817,500 | $695,000–$932,000 | 17 | 204 |
| Q3 2026 | Freehold townhouse | 97 | $568,000 | $520,000–$603,000 | 22 | 97 |
| Q3 2026 | Single detached | 125 | $718,000 | $665,000–$852,500 | 18 | 125 |
The detached median fell from $817,500 in Q2 to $718,000 in Q3, while the freehold-townhouse median moved from $570,000 to $568,000. That narrowed the difference between the two category medians by $97,500. These are successive groups of sold homes, so the change cannot establish that an individual detached home lost $99,500 in value or that a specific townhouse owner's upgrade became $97,500 cheaper.
The ranges clarify what a move-up search might include
The Q3 middle half of townhouse prices was $520,000–$603,000. For detached homes it was $665,000–$852,500. The $150,000 median gap sits between distributions with different widths and different properties. A target detached home at the upper end and a current townhouse at the lower end would produce a different financial picture from the two medians. That is why a paired comparison should come before a move-up decision.
With exactly three above-grade bedrooms, Q3 medians were $700,000 for detached homes across 74 episodes and $571,000 for freehold townhouses across 76. The resulting $129,000 gap keeps one feature consistent but still does not control for size, lot, age, condition or location. It is a useful check on the broad comparison, rather than a complete measure of the cost of changing home types.
Where the budget thresholds sat
| At or below sale price | Freehold townhouse (count / valid prices; share) | Single detached (count / valid prices; share) |
|---|---|---|
| $600,000 | 71/97; 73.2% | 17/125; 13.6% |
| $700,000 | 93/97; 95.9% | 53/125; 42.4% |
| $800,000 | 97/97; 100.0% | 86/125; 68.8% |
Seventy-one of the 97 townhouse episodes were at or below $600,000, or 73.2%. Among the exactly-three-above-grade-bedroom townhouse group, 60 of 76 met that threshold, or 78.9%. These are two different denominators and should not be combined. For a buyer who requires that bedroom arrangement, the second figure points to the more relevant historical sample.
Detached sales at or below $700,000 represented 53 of 125 episodes, or 42.4%. At $800,000 the count was 86, or 68.8%. Those figures may help decide where to focus the first comparison exercise, but they do not promise a particular home or show today's available listings. A household should define its own spending limit before using the thresholds to inspect actual sold comparables.
Selling time changed less than the detached median price
| Home type | Below recorded ask | Below original ask | Above recorded ask | Recorded ask below original ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freehold townhouse | 76/97 (78.4%) | 79/97 (81.4%) | 7/97 (7.2%) | 19/97 (19.6%) |
| Single detached | 98/125 (78.4%) | 100/125 (80.0%) | 19/125 (15.2%) | 26/125 (20.8%) |
Detached median provider DOM moved from 17 days in Q2 to 18 in Q3; freehold-townhouse DOM moved from 19 to 22. The relatively small time differences sit alongside a much larger change in the detached median price. Price and speed measure separate features of the sold records, and one should not be used as a shortcut for the other.
About 78.4% of each Q3 group sold below recorded asking: 98 of 125 detached episodes and 76 of 97 townhouse episodes. Above-recorded-asking outcomes were less alike, at 15.2% for detached and 7.2% for townhouses, because the at-asking shares also differed. This is a useful reminder to consider all three outcomes instead of assuming that the complement of “below asking” means “above asking.”
September detail and the smaller condo groups
September contributed 42 detached episodes, with a $742,250 median and 14 median DOM, and 38 freehold townhouses, with a $545,000 median and 25 median DOM. Both monthly groups meet the minimum, but September overlaps the quarter. These numbers provide a recent detail within the report; they do not create an independent quarterly comparison or a forecast for October.
Condo samples require a wider window here. The Q3 apartment group had 16 episodes and condo townhouses had 18, so quarterly metrics are suppressed. Across April–September, the apartment group reached 35 episodes with a $370,000 median, while condo townhouses reached 41 with a $394,000 median. Those six-month figures are useful starting context for separate searches, with condo fees and building information still to investigate.
The next useful conversation
Buyers should bring Matt the specific locations they would accept within this broad area, the home type, bedroom requirement and budget. Sellers should bring the home's details, condition and timing needs. For a move-up plan, compare the likely sale range against a shortlist of actual target properties and account for transaction costs. The $150,000 category gap begins that discussion; it should not determine the plan by itself.
Source and methodology
Data source: PropTx. Analysis and commentary: Matt Richling, New Purveyors Lab. Source retrieval began October 6, 2026 at 23:53 UTC (7:53 p.m. Toronto). Prepared October 7, 2026; all prices are Canadian dollars. This edition uses the saved snapshot, so later provider revisions are not included.
Periods use PurchaseContractDate, the recorded accepted-agreement date, rather than the closing date. Q2 is April 1–June 30, 2026; Q3 is July 1–September 30, 2026. Six-month periods are April 1–September 30, 2026 and October 1, 2025–March 31, 2026. Statistics pool individual records rather than averaging monthly medians. Comparisons use equal-length, non-overlapping periods; six-month context containing Q3 is not treated as an independent comparison with Q3.
The geography is CountyOrParish=Ottawa plus the exact provider City label named in this report. These areas can contain several neighbourhoods; municipal or neighbourhood boundaries have not been independently verified. Included records are Sold and For Sale in four exact type/subtype pairs: residential freehold detached, residential freehold attached/row/townhouse, condominium apartment and condominium townhouse. Other classifications are excluded. A sold episode means a listing record; relistings are not linked into unique homes. Source hashes, pagination, cohort membership and unique listing keys were checked.
Prices use positive ClosePrice observations. DOM uses nonnegative DaysOnMarket; the provider's detailed DOM business rules have not been confirmed. Recorded asking means ListPrice, which is not independently verified as the final advertised price; original asking means OriginalListPrice. Price-reduction comparisons measure the relationship between those two fields, not a complete history of reductions. Asking prices are not property valuations.
Each displayed median, quartile or percentage requires at least 30 valid observations in its own denominator. Counts may be shown below that threshold to explain suppression. Quartiles use linear interpolation; no outliers are trimmed. The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile and is not the full price range. Changes use unrounded values. Comparisons are descriptive, not seasonally adjusted, and can reflect differences in location, condition, size and the homes that sold. They do not measure current inventory, offer counts, sale probability, causality or same-property appreciation. Read the research standards.
Discuss these findings
For help applying these findings to a property or a move, contact Matt Richling. Include the area, property type and timing that matter to you.
Cite this edition
Richling, Matt. “Orleans–Cumberland and Area report: Q3 2026 townhouse and detached choices” New Purveyors Lab. Q3 2026 · July–September. Updated October 7, 2026. Permanent edition.