r/OttawaRealEstate

11 months ago someone posted in here asking if the job cuts in government had impacted the housing market and the consensus was "too soon to say".

About a year later, what's the view? 10,000 cuts in 2025 and 12,000 in 2026, with 45% in the NCR (according to AI). So that's 9,900 cuts in the Ottawa area. Pretty material. One factor is that people who leave get some severance so tough decisions around selling homes/downsizing can be postponed a while.

Question to sellers:
Given that (a) it's a slow market, (b) new build rebates with tons of Minto homes being built, what is your plan if your house has been on the market for some times (2 months or more, is that normal now?)? Hold on, take off the market for the winter months or drop price?

My fiancee and I are in our mid 20s and looking to purchase our first home and have been looking at the 350k-400k condo townhome segment in Kanata (Katimavik mainly).

The fees are high (500/month), but the actual monthly outflow would be very reasonable with our salaries. I'm wondering if these actually represent a wise choice for us entering the market, or if it's always better to keep renting + saving for a larger downpayment to put towards a freehold even if it would take us maybe 3 more years to get there.

We rent at 2300 in Westboro right now and I would prefer to start building equity.

Interested in other's perspectives.