Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Starts and Completions Survey, December 2023; CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2023; CMHC, adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Canada and National Household Survey), 2021. This information is reproduced and distributed on an “as is” basis with the permission of CMHC.

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Ottawa is a key player in Ontario’s housing market, ranking second in the province for new construction starts, contributing 10.8% of Ontario’s total. Despite this high level of activity, Ottawa’s average construction timeline remains efficient at 16.3 months, significantly shorter than the provincial average of 23.5 months. The city also ranks second in completions, accounting for over 21% of Ontario’s total. Ottawa’s rental market shows a slightly higher vacancy rate (2.2%) compared to the provincial average (1.7%), with bachelor units having the lowest vacancy and 2-bedroom units the highest. This contrasts with Ontario, where 1-bedroom units have the highest vacancy and 3-bedroom units the lowest. Regarding affordability, Ottawa’s median rent of $1481 closely aligns with the provincial average of $1500, placing it as the eighth most expensive city in Ontario.

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New Housing Construction

• Duration Trends: Construction times generally increased across most housing types, but apartments showed fluctuations, peaking at 25.5 months in 2021 before slightly decreasing to 23.1 months in 2023—still among the highest durations in the past decade. Meanwhile, single-detached, semi-detached, and row houses saw consistent increases, with semi-detached homes experiencing the sharpest rise, jumping from 7.3 months in 2021 to 12.3 months in 2023.

• Started New Constructions: Apartments have held the largest share of new constructions since 2020, with a notable increase reaching 63% of all starts in 2023. This category also saw the most significant growth, particularly after 2020, with a 45% increase in 2023 compared to 2021. In contrast, single and row housing peaked around 2020-2021 before sharply declining, both dropping to between 1500 and 1600 units in 2023. Semi-detached homes remained consistently low, with a gradual overall decline.

• Completed Constructions: Although apartment starts have surged since 2020, completions have increased more slowly, with only an 18% rise in 2023 compared to 2021, reflecting the longer construction times. Row housing completions exhibited a steady upward trend from 2014 to 2021, despite a dip in 2019, but have since declined. Single housing completions also dropped after 2021, though at a slower rate than the starts, while semi-detached completions mirrored the trends in their starts.

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Vacancy Rate

• Vacancy rates across all structure sizes followed a cyclical trend, bottoming out between 2017 and 2019 before peaking at 3.8% in 2020, then steadily declining. Bachelor units consistently had the lowest vacancy rates. From 2018 to 2020, all unit types saw rising vacancies, but afterward, they experienced declining trends at different rates, with 2-bedroom units showing the slowest decrease and 3-bedroom units showing the steepest decline. As of 2023, 2-bedroom units hold the highest vacancy rate among all structure sizes.

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Median Rent

• Median rents across all structure sizes consistently increased over the period, showing a clear upward trend. The most significant jump occurred for 1-bedroom units, which saw a more than 50% increase over the last decade, rising from $900 in 2014 to $1373 in 2023. In contrast, 3-bedroom units had the lowest growth rate, increasing from $1299 in 2014 to $1800 in 2023, representing about a 40% rise.

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Population and Households

• More than 60% of Ottawa’s population live in 1- or 2-person households, reflecting a trend toward smaller living arrangements.

• The majority of households (51%) earn over $100,000 annually, while only 4% fall within the lowest income bracket.

• Over 80% of Ottawa’s housing consists of single-detached, semi-detached, or high-rise apartments, with single-detached homes making up 45% of the total housing stock.