Ottawa Office Market Report

Fundamentals relatively more stable, despite headwinds. Ottawa’s office market has shown more stability in recent years as the federal government is one of the largest occupiers of space within the region. Due to this, the office sector has held up relatively well compared to other major metros. As of the end of the first quarter, vacancy sat at 9.0 per cent, compared to 13.0 per cent nationally. Also, the current construction pipeline is small, at just 0.2 per cent of total existing inventory compared to the 2.5 per cent seen across the country. Consequently, future new supply will be limited, which should cap upward pressure on vacancy. With the recent Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) agreement offering federal employees more flexibility around remote work, coupled with the government’s plan to divest millions of square feet of office space over the next few years, further downside risk is emerging. However, as the federal government pushes for employees to return to office two to three days per week some optimism continues to exist within the metro’s office sector.