New to Canada and buying in Ottawa

Ottawa average residential sale price, Ottawa Real Estate Board put the Ottawa average at <strong>$688,253</strong> for August 2026. For a new-to-Canada mortgage that makes the legal minimum down about <strong>$43,826</strong> (5% to $500,000, 10% above, 20% over $1.5M). The same board counted 1,002 Ottawa sales in August 2026, with a median days on market of 29 days. Your own property and balance replace these numbers on the file.

On each market's own cited figure, the legal minimum down is $43,826 in Ottawa against Kingston $36,270 (average $612,691). The comparison is the same arithmetic on a different price, which is why moving the search one municipality over changes the file before it changes the rate — lenders price the same product the same way across Ontario.

About <strong>$10,240</strong> at the average. It is paid in cash on closing (or, in Quebec, billed by the municipality afterwards) and cannot be added to the mortgage. An eligible first-time buyer recovers about $4,000 of it through the Ontario relief that applies here. Our <a href="/land-transfer-tax-calculator">land transfer tax calculator</a> runs your own price.

Ottawa's average price is approximately $688,253, so the typical newcomer file we see here sits in the $585,015–$791,491 band. Your specific neighbourhood and property type can move that materially.

On Ottawa's $688,253 average price, a representative newcomer file at minimum down works out to about $43,826 down and roughly $3,259/mo (principal + interest at 4.19% over a 30-year amortization), plus about $10,240 in Ontario land transfer tax. Your exact numbers depend on the property and your file — we run them precisely before you commit.

A local broker knows National Capital's property types and which of our 100+ lenders price newcomer files best in Ottawa — from Centretown and Westboro condos to detached stock — and there's no fee to you on A-lender files. The regional lenders on that panel are listed under the neighbourhood table above.

Yes, on two conditions and with one large cost. The federal ban applies to residential property inside a census metropolitan area or census agglomeration, so you need 183 or more days of validity left on your permit at the date of purchase and you must not have bought more than one residential property. Financing is available: CMHC, Sagen and Canada Guaranty all insure a valid work permit to 95% loan-to-value, so the legal minimum down payment is the same $43,826 a permanent resident would put down, though individual lenders often require more. The cost is NRST at $172,063, which takes the cash you need at closing from about $59,466 to about $231,529.

If permanent residence is close, the arithmetic usually says yes. On the same $688,253 house, a permanent resident needs about $59,466 of cash at closing and a work-permit holder about $231,529 — a gap of $172,063 that is entirely NRST. It is rebatable in full if you become a permanent resident within 4 years of registration, so waiting is not the only route, but you have to find the money first and wait to get it back. Against that, waiting means whatever the market does in the meantime. We run both timelines with your actual numbers rather than arguing the principle.

Mortgage Squad Advisors is a licensed Ontario mortgage brokerage — FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario) Brokerage Licence #13737. All advisors are licensed and FINTRAC-trained, and every recommendation follows FSRA's conduct and disclosure rules.