Was August’s slowdown just seasonal?
Sales fell between July and August in both years available in this comparison. The decline was considerably larger in 2026: the four categories recorded 786 sales in August, down from 1,037 in July. In 2025, sales fell from 1,045 in July to 965 in August.
That supports a specific finding: this year’s July-to-August decline was larger than last year’s. Two summers do not establish Ottawa’s normal seasonal pattern, explain the cause of the decline, or predict what will happen this fall.
Common scale: decline of 0–30%. Sales fell from 1,045 to 965 in 2025 (7.7%) and from 1,037 to 786 in 2026 (24.2%). Source: PropTx-data reports; calculations by New Purveyors Lab. Two summers do not establish a normal seasonal pattern.
| Measure across four home categories | August 2026 | Comparison | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales versus July 2026 | 786 | 1,037 | −24.2% |
| Sales versus August 2025 | 786 | 965 | −18.5% |
| New listings versus July 2026 | 1,668 | 1,999 | −16.6% |
| New listings versus August 2025 | 1,668 | 1,663 | +0.3% |
Fewer sales, with a similar number of new listings
Compared with August 2025, reported sales declined by 179 while new listings increased by five. New listings measure homes entering the market during the month; they do not measure the total stock of homes available at month-end.
The combination is worth watching heading into fall. It shows that fewer sales were recorded alongside a similar flow of new listings. It does not, by itself, establish an increase in active inventory or a buyer’s market. Sales and new listings in the same month are also different groups: many August sales began as listings in earlier months.
How did the change differ by property type?
Every category recorded fewer sales than in August 2025. Condo townhouses had the largest percentage decline, from 107 sales to 73. Freehold townhouses combined an 18.5% decline in sales with a 7.8% increase in new listings.
| Property type | August 2026 sales | August 2025 sales | Sales change | August 2026 new listings | August 2025 new listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single detached | 378 | 442 | −14.5% | 764 | 773 |
| Freehold townhouse | 207 | 254 | −18.5% | 401 | 372 |
| Apartment condominium | 128 | 162 | −21.0% | 306 | 324 |
| Townhouse condominium | 73 | 107 | −31.8% | 197 | 194 |
The condo-townhouse comparison has the smallest sales count, so relatively small changes in the number of transactions can produce larger percentage swings. These categories should not be treated as interchangeable descriptions of the Ottawa market.
Did homes also take longer to sell?
The answer depends on the property type. Reported median days on market rose through the summer for detached homes and freehold townhouses. Apartment condos moved in the other direction between July and August.
| Property type | June 2026 median days | July 2026 median days | August 2026 median days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single detached | 20 | 24 | 27 |
| Freehold townhouse | 21 | 27 | 28 |
| Apartment condominium | 36 | 39 | 34 |
| Townhouse condominium | 23 | 35 | 34 |
Apartment-condo sales fell from 161 in July to 128 in August, yet their median selling time shortened from 39 to 34 days. Fewer sales and faster selling times can occur together because selling time describes the homes that sold. It does not measure how long all unsold homes have been waiting, and the mix of properties sold can change from month to month.
See the Ottawa-region time-to-sell report for the full selling-time comparison and the distinction between average and median days.
What does this mean heading into fall?
For sellers, the useful comparison is the relevant property category and local competition. A single market-wide description can hide differences: detached selling times lengthened, while apartment-condo selling times shortened in August. The figures provide context for reviewing a listing’s position, rather than a deadline by which an individual home should sell.
For buyers, the next question is whether the homes that fit their needs are seeing similar conditions. The below-asking report adds evidence about completed sale prices relative to asking prices. These August totals alone do not tell a buyer what to offer on a particular home.
September’s results will provide the next comparison. The most useful follow-up will examine sales, new listings and selling times by property type against September in earlier years. No September market results are included here.
Source and method
Source: PropTx data in the supplied July and August 2026 market-report snapshots, captured September 10, 2026. Filters select Sale, Ottawa region, and all cities, neighbourhoods, architectural styles, bedrooms and bathrooms within each of the four property categories. June 2026 and prior-year figures come from the reports’ comparison columns.
New Purveyors Lab summed the four categories for the sales and new-listing totals. Percentage change equals the newer count minus the comparison count, divided by the comparison count, multiplied by 100. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place after calculation. Median days on market are reproduced as reported, rather than combined into an overall median.
These four categories exclude other property types and are not a total for every Ottawa-region home sale. Geography follows the reports’ Ottawa filter. The report totals are used consistently throughout this article; they are not blended with separate API extracts. Provider rules for day counting and relistings have not been independently confirmed. Listing counts should not be interpreted as verified counts of unique homes across relistings. Monthly selling-time figures describe completed sales and can be affected by changes in the mix of properties sold. A longer, consistently defined history is needed to establish recurring seasonality.
Cite this edition
Richling, Matt. “Ottawa’s summer slowdown: what changed heading into fall?” New Purveyors Lab. August 2026 edition, published September 11, 2026. Data source: PropTx. Permanent edition.
Research library · Ottawa-region time to sell · Sales below asking