PropTx medians. The full values and sample sizes are in the table below.
The answer depends on the property type
Detached homes and freehold townhouses had the shorter reported medians in August. Apartment and townhouse condominiums both had a median of 34 days. The four groups accounted for 786 reported sales.
| Property type | August sales | August median | July median | August 2025 median | August average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single detached | 378 | 27 days | 24 days | 24 days | 38 days |
| Freehold townhouse | 207 | 28 days | 27 days | 27 days | 38 days |
| Apartment condominium | 128 | 34 days | 39 days | 38 days | 46 days |
| Townhouse condominium | 73 | 34 days | 35 days | 32 days | 45 days |
These are separate property-type medians. Averaging them would not produce a valid overall median for the Ottawa region.
What changed from July?
The reported detached median increased from 24 days in July to 27 in August. Freehold townhouses moved from 27 to 28 days. Apartment condominiums moved the other way, from 39 to 34 days, while townhouse condominiums edged from 35 to 34 days.
The year-over-year comparison also varies by type. Relative to August 2025, detached homes, freehold townhouses and townhouse condominiums had higher reported medians. Apartment condominiums had a lower median: 34 days compared with 38.
These differences describe the homes that sold in each month. They do not establish that any individual home became easier or harder to sell, and they do not identify the cause of a change.
Why the average tells a different story
The average was higher than the median in every group: 38 days for detached homes and freehold townhouses, 46 for apartment condominiums, and 45 for townhouse condominiums.
The median is the middle of the sold-listing distribution. The average takes every reported duration into account and can be influenced by longer marketing periods. Showing both helps explain why the experience of a few listings can differ from the middle of the market.
How close did homes sell to asking?
Most August sales in each of the four groups were reported below asking price. The median sale-to-list ratios were between 97.7% and 98.5%.
| Property type | Sold below asking | Median sale-to-list ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Single detached | 77.5% | 98.0% |
| Freehold townhouse | 78.3% | 98.5% |
| Apartment condominium | 85.9% | 97.7% |
| Townhouse condominium | 83.6% | 97.7% |
These asking-price measures use PropTx data. Selling below asking is different from reducing the asking price before a sale. The supplied report does not establish whether the comparison uses the original or a later asking price, so these figures should not be read as discounts from the original listing price.
Nor is a sale-to-list ratio a negotiation target for a particular home. Asking strategies, condition, location and the mix of properties can differ.
Read the full below-asking analysis and monthly comparisons.
What this means for buyers and sellers
For a seller, the property-type comparison is a more useful starting point than treating every Ottawa-region home as one market. The median supplies context for a conversation about timing; it does not tell you how long your home will take to sell.
For a buyer, the below-asking figures show how the recorded sales related to their asking prices. They do not establish that every listing has room for the same offer adjustment or that a longer-listed property must accept less.
The practical reading is to consider time on market and asking-price outcomes together, while checking how closely the sold properties resemble the home you are evaluating.
Scope, source and limitations
This report uses PropTx data for July and August 2026, captured on September 10, 2026. The August reports provide the previous month and the same month last year.
The selected geography is the Ottawa region selected in the source reports, with all cities and neighbourhoods inside that selection. It is not presented here as the City of Ottawa municipal boundary or the full territory of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The property selections are Detached, Attached Row Townhouse, Condo Apartment and Condo Townhouse; all architectural styles, beds and baths are included within each selection.
Days on market are presented as reported in the supplied PropTx-data summaries, in whole days. They are not New Purveyors Lab’s independently calculated calendar durations. The exact inclusive-day convention and treatment of relistings have not been confirmed.
The figures describe sold listing episodes, not all homes offered for sale. They do not measure the probability of selling, the time until closing, or cumulative marketing time across different listing numbers.
This edition preserves a fixed report snapshot. A separate PropTx extract was closely aligned, with one more August detached sale; this table consistently retains the report snapshot’s 378 detached sales rather than combining results from different extracts.
Read the source and methodology note.
Cite this edition
Richling, Matt. “How long does it take to sell a home in the Ottawa region?” New Purveyors Lab. August 2026 edition, September 10, 2026. Data source: PropTx. Analysis and commentary: Matt Richling, New Purveyors Lab. Permanent edition.