That is 180 additional listing episodes, or 5.5 times the original count, for a budget ceiling that is 25% higher. These are advertised monthly rents in a defined sample, not a census of Ottawa rentals or a guarantee of current availability.
How the count changes with the budget
| Monthly asking-rent ceiling | Listing episodes at or below ceiling | Share of the 581-record sample |
|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | 40 | 6.9% |
| $2,100 | 59 | 10.2% |
| $2,200 | 88 | 15.1% |
| $2,300 | 121 | 20.8% |
| $2,400 | 173 | 29.8% |
| $2,500 | 220 | 37.9% |
Source: PropTx snapshot, September 11, 2026; New Purveyors Lab calculations. Each row includes all records at or below its ceiling. Rows overlap and must not be added together.
The largest increase between these $100 steps occurs from $2,300 to $2,400, adding 52 episodes. The next step to $2,500 adds another 47. This distribution describes where asking prices were concentrated; it does not measure the quality or value of the homes.
Strictly below $2,000, there were 33 episodes, or 5.7% of the sample. Including seven priced at exactly $2,000 raises the count to 40. Similarly, 193 episodes were strictly below $2,500; another 27 were priced at exactly $2,500. Keeping “below” and “at or below” separate matters.
The higher ceiling brings townhouses into the comparison
| Property type | All active episodes in sample | At or below $2,000 monthly | At or below $2,500 monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single detached | 118 | 0 | 1 |
| Freehold townhouse | 191 | 0 | 37 |
| Apartment condominium | 203 | 40 | 127 |
| Townhouse condominium | 69 | 0 | 55 |
| Total | 581 | 40 | 220 |
All 40 episodes at or below $2,000 were apartment condominiums. At $2,500, the comparison broadens to 37 freehold townhouses and 55 townhouse condominiums. Together, those 92 townhouse episodes account for 41.8% of the 220 records within the higher ceiling.
Only one detached-home episode met the $2,500 ceiling. That is a count within this restricted sample, not evidence that only one such rental existed across Ottawa. The property groups differ in location, size, condition and inclusions, so the counts do not establish comparable value.
What changes for one- and two-bedroom apartment condos?
| Apartment-condominium group | All active episodes in group | At or below $2,000 monthly | At or below $2,500 monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bedroom | 67 | 26 | 58 |
| 2-bedroom | 118 | 5 | 57 |
Other bedroom counts are excluded from these two rows, so they do not sum to the full apartment-condominium sample.
For two-bedroom condos, the qualifying count rises from five to 57. For one-bedroom condos, it rises from 26 to 58. This describes the distribution of advertised prices across different homes; it does not mean that adding a bedroom costs $500 or that the two groups are otherwise equivalent.
Asking rent is only part of the budget
A $2,500 asking rent can exceed a household’s $2,500 housing budget after separately charged utilities, parking or other expenses. An incentive can change the first-term average cost without changing the advertised base rent. This study has not calculated those adjustments.
Compare written inclusions and the full payment schedule before treating two advertisements as equivalent. Our rental-incentives article explains the comparison.
The useful finding is that a higher ceiling opens up a broader mix in this sample. It does not establish which home is suitable for a particular household or whether the additional cost is affordable.
Source and methodology
New Purveyors Lab calculations from the PropTx VOW active snapshot extracted September 11, 2026, at approximately 1:17 p.m. Toronto time. The Ottawa-region scope uses CountyOrParish=Ottawa; equivalence to municipal or metropolitan boundaries has not been established. Data provider: PropTx.
The comparison includes records explicitly marked Entire Property, Unfurnished and 12 Months, with positive original and current asking prices, across single detached homes, freehold townhouses, apartment condominiums and townhouse condominiums. Of 1,083 active records, 581 met these criteria. These are listing episodes, not independently deduplicated homes. Other rental types, furnishing arrangements and some self-contained units are excluded.
Monthly price interpretation was confirmed by Matt Richling on September 14. A separate check of the same 581 listing episodes that day found PaymentFrequency explicitly marked Monthly in 215 and blank in 366. Blank entries were not independently verified by the feed; the monthly interpretation for those entries relies on that confirmation. All price thresholds use the original September 11 asking prices, not refreshed prices or negotiated rents.
Source-response hashes, unique listing keys and sample counts were checked. Percentages use unrounded inputs and are displayed to one decimal place. Availability can change after extraction. No individual listing records are published.
Cite this article
New Purveyors Lab. “What does a $2,500 rental budget open up in our Ottawa sample?” Published September 14, 2026. Article link.