Townhouses dominated the volume of new housing in Ottawa last year, which recorded a 75 per cent increase over 2023.
An estimated 2,079 multi-family units sold in 2024, according to Zonda Urban. The sale of 1,997 new townhouses saw demand for this building type rise 72 per cent year-over-year. About 858 townhouses were sold in Q4, up 84 per cent from a year ago.
There was also an uptick among new condominium apartments at 82 sales, a 204 per cent increase; however, the market for new apartments remains stagnant with a standing inventory of 225 unsold and built units at the end of 2024.
New master-planned communities in Ottawa’s west and southwest led in townhouse sales during the year. Barrhaven and Stittsville accounted for 52 per cent of all 2024 townhouse sales, with a further quarter of activity found in Kanata and Orleans. As of Q4, new townhouses, including stacked and traditional units, sold for an average of $584,532.
Fourteen new townhouse developments opened for sales last year with an absorption rate of 67 per cent of released units by the end of Q4 and an average sold price of $490,963.
Affordability was the key factor with nearly half of new units brought to the market being stacked, with an average sold price of $387,150 (1,066 square feet average unit size). At an average size of 1,801 square feet, traditional townhouses in newly launched developments sold for an average $588,334 in 2024.
Just two low-rise new condominium apartment projects launched in the market during last year sold at an average end-selling price of $431,293 (727 square feet).
“Ground related townhouses really are the engine of this market,” said Pauline Lierman, Zonda Urban vice president of market research. “By late 2023, Ottawa Region developers were already reworking their product and pricing, offering more stacked towns and compact traditional towns — the latter often marketed as ‘urban’ units in the 1,600 to 1,700 per square foot range, and priced below $650,000. The shift paid off during 2024 with buyers re-emerging.”
Zonda Urban anticipates this trend will remain throughout 2025 with relatively affordable price points in the newer Ottawa suburban communities.