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The purchase-price ceiling is only the beginning of the comparison. Within this sample, a lower sale price did not necessarily accompany a lower monthly fee, and the recorded utility inclusions varied. A useful shortlist needs both the purchase budget and the ongoing costs of the specific unit.
The purchase budget and the fee
The study selects apartment-condo sales with exactly two recorded above-grade bedrooms and sale prices strictly below $400,000. All 120 had a positive recorded condo fee.
| Sale-price group | Sold episodes | Median sale price | Median monthly fee | Middle half of monthly fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All sales below $400,000 | 120 | $291,000 | $721.24 | $559.96–$824.54 |
| Below $300,000 | 63 | $260,000 | $729.47 | $637.89–$833.00 |
| $300,000 to below $400,000 | 57 | $330,000 | $688.40 | $452.00–$823.00 |
All dollar amounts are Canadian. Fees are treated as monthly under the dataset interpretation confirmed by the project owner; the feed's fee-frequency field was blank for these records. The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile, not from the lowest to the highest fee.
The lower purchase-price group had the higher median fee. That is a comparison of different properties, not a finding that paying less causes higher fees. The groups were not matched for building, location, condition, size or included services.
The medians also do not describe a single representative unit. Do not combine the median purchase price and median fee to claim an actual household's monthly payment. Use the chosen unit's price, fee, taxes, financing terms and separately payable costs for that exercise.
How much space was recorded?
The most common size bands were 800–899 and 900–999 square feet. Together they accounted for 67 of 120 episodes, or 55.8%.
| Approximate size band, square feet | Episodes |
|---|---|
| 600–699 | 7 |
| 700–799 | 23 |
| 800–899 | 33 |
| 900–999 | 34 |
| 1,000–1,199 | 18 |
| 1,200–1,399 | 4 |
| 1,400–1,599 | 1 |
| Total with a recorded band | 120 |
These are listing bands, not measured floor areas. We have not converted their midpoints into an average size or a price per square foot. A floor plan and verified measurements are more useful when deciding whether a second bedroom, work area or dining space will fit your needs. The bedroom field alone does not establish a bedroom-plus-den layout.
Parking was commonly recorded; utilities were less uniform
Of the 120 episodes, 119 recorded at least one parking space and one recorded zero. None was missing that field. A recorded space is a starting point for checking the unit's parking arrangement; this dataset does not verify title, allocation or any separate charges.
| Fee-inclusion flag | Explicitly recorded | Not recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | 53 | 67 |
| Electricity / hydro | 44 | 76 |
| Water | 103 | 17 |
| Parking inclusion | 43 | 77 |
Each row covers all 120 episodes. “Not recorded” does not mean the expense was confirmed to be excluded. The parking-inclusion flag is also a different field from the number of parking spaces. A buyer should not infer either maintenance coverage or ownership rights by substituting one for the other.
Turn the research into a shortlist
Start with units that fit both your purchase-price ceiling and your recurring-cost budget. For each candidate, record the actual condo fee, what it includes, and which costs remain separate. Resolve unknown inclusions before comparing totals.
Next, compare the usable layout and verified area, then check the parking arrangement against what you need. Finally, review the building's current documents and any disclosed issues with your professional advisers. This sale-price and fee dataset does not assess a condominium corporation's financial condition or predict future fees.
The research is useful as a set of questions to take into a current search. It does not establish that today's available units will have the same prices, sizes or fees, or that any particular buyer will qualify to purchase one.
Source, method and limits
Source: PropTx MLS data, with calculations by New Purveyors Lab. The saved extraction was collected October 7, 2026 in Toronto time, or October 8 UTC. It contained 397 apartment-condo sold episodes with purchase-contract dates from July 1 through September 30. The geography is the provider's Ottawa county/region field across supplying boards, not a separately mapped municipal boundary.
Exactly two above-grade bedrooms and a positive sale price below $400,000 selected 120 episodes. Requiring a positive condo fee excluded none of those 120. All had size bands and parking counts. Missing inclusion flags remain unknown. The analysis does not require an age field and makes no age comparison.
An episode is a listing record, not a verified unique home; relistings have not been linked. Quartiles use inclusive linear interpolation with no outlier trimming. The published medians and percentages use at least 30 valid observations. Source hashes, counts and calculations were checked independently.
For broader context, read condo fees within purchase-price bands, Ottawa condo fees and utility inclusions and fees. Those articles use their own defined samples; their medians are not interchangeable with this two-bedroom subset. See also the Lab's research standards.
Bring your purchase ceiling, monthly comfort range and space requirements to a condo-search discussion with Matt Richling and New Purveyors. The most useful comparison is between the full details of the units you could actually choose.
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. “What did under $400,000 buy in Ottawa two-bedroom condos in Q3 2026?” New Purveyors Lab. Q3 2026 · July–September. Updated October 24, 2026. Permanent edition.