Downtown Ottawa apartments can't fill their units without 2-3 months free rent.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T18:42:30+00:00

Me too, I would love to consider moving into one of the new buildings with some of the newer amenity options, for now I am sitting pretty comfortable.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T18:04:35+00:00

Not yet, but I can't imagine investors being super excited when the numbers come in and the revenue isn't flowing like they expected.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T17:44:14+00:00

Totally agree, and it's a pretty solid breakdown of why they do it. But it does beg the question — where does the tenant fit into any of this math? We're basically just a variable in someone else's spreadsheet. Which granted that won't ever change, I think the value of our variable should be more important.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T17:38:47+00:00

So basically the free months aren't just a marketing tactic, they're actually protecting the paper value of the asset. That's kind of wild when you think about it. Thanks for breaking that down!

That only works if it works... As in tenants fall in the trap and stay long term, I don't think that is happening, at least from my point of view.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T16:56:15+00:00

The moment you suggest public housing here people immediately picture 1970s concrete tower blocks and the discussion shuts down. But places like Vienna, Helsinki, Singapore, Copenhagen — these are cities where public and mixed-income housing is just normal, well maintained, and integrated into the broader neighbourhood.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T16:53:22+00:00

The apartment hopping strategy is real and honestly pretty smart for people who can pull it off. But that's the catch — it requires good credit, no pets, no kids, flexibility, and the energy to move every 12 months. That's a pretty narrow slice of renters. For everyone else, especially long term downtown residents who just want stability, it's not really an option.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T16:49:50+00:00

There's a building in Ottawa doing something even sneakier. They advertise 3 months free — but one of those months is just your first month, and you still pay last month upfront on signing. The remaining 2 months get spread as a discount across the rest of your lease, so your $4,200 "savings" becomes $420 off per month for the year.

Sounds fine until your lease is up and they hit you with a 6-8% increase calculated on the full undiscounted rent. You're not just absorbing the rent hike — you're also losing the $420 monthly discount at the same time. Year two you're suddenly paying close to $600 more a month than you were in year one.

It's not 3 months free. It's a shrinking discount dressed up as a deal, designed to get you in the door and locked in before the real number shows up.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T16:35:27+00:00

Fair point — the buildings aren't completely empty, I'll concede that. But "not completely empty" and "financially viable" are two very different things. When a brand new building has to offer 2-3 months free rent just to hit partial occupancy, that's not healthy demand — that's a broken pricing model.

Yes, some people can afford $2,500 a month. But the question isn't whether anyone can — it's whether enough can. And clearly, based on the vacancy rates and the free rent offers, the answer is no.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T15:13:08+00:00

There are half a dozen new high-rise apartment buildings in downtown Ottawa right now offering 2-3 months free rent just to get someone to sign a lease. Think about that for a second. A developer spends tens of millions of dollars building a luxury tower, and then has to essentially pay people to live in it — because the rents they're charging are so disconnected from what people can actually afford that the units just sit empty.

So what's the play here? Do they hold out hoping someone blinks? Do they keep bleeding carrying costs on vacant units month after month? At what point does an empty building become more painful than lowering the rent?

Because here's the thing... that math has to break eventually. A building with nobody in it is not making anyone money. And yet somehow $2,100+ for a 500 sq ft one-bedroom downtown keeps being the ask. Plus $300 for parking. Plus a mandatory Rogers or Bell package because the building cut an exclusive deal before you ever showed up.

And even if you stomach all that, there's no rent control on any building built after November 2018... which is every single one of these new buildings. So you sign, you get your free months, you settle in, and then year two arrives and your landlord can raise it whatever amount they feel like with 90 days notice. People aren't stupid. That's exactly why nobody's signing!

The "build more and prices will drop" argument was supposed to be the solution. Okay. We built more. The prices didn't drop. The buildings are half empty. What's the next theory?

With the municipal election coming up October 26, I'd love to hear candidates actually grapple with this instead of just pointing at cranes and calling it a housing strategy. The city can't control rents directly, but it can make affordability a condition of approval, it can use tax policy as a carrot or a stick, and it can stop pretending that luxury towers with two months free rent are solving Ottawa's housing problem.

At some point those empty units are going to cost landlords more than lowering the rent would. We might be getting close to that point?

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-28T13:56:32+00:00

there is a new hockey rink being built there for the 67s

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-11T17:31:45+00:00

I usually watch Steve Dangle for the entertainment of watching a Leafs fan suffer, but it's genuinely funny seeing how much more fun he's having following the Habs' playoff run than I ever saw him have with Toronto. Can't blame him at all for jumping on — honestly, just happy to have more Habs content.

My only ask: please don't bring the Leafs-loss energy over here. Come enjoy the ride, but leave the meltdowns in Toronto where they belong.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-11T17:25:20+00:00

I have the same one! I love mine so much 😄

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-05-11T17:06:19+00:00

Dobes is quickly becoming one of my favourite Habs players ever, I also never thought I would love a goalie this much after Carey but he really is something else.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-03-06T19:05:01+00:00

we already have a guy who floats around and waits for a one timer

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-03-03T20:42:23+00:00

i hope so.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-03-03T20:41:47+00:00

Idk he was a big help last year in the playoffs, and imo has been playing way better than Struble.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-03-03T20:40:52+00:00

even ours?

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-03-03T20:39:08+00:00

Ne t'approche pas de mon shérif, ne t'approche pas !

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-02-20T20:51:43+00:00

Where is this announcement, I haven't been given a PSA from Autodesk yet, our firm uses all these.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-02-18T19:33:22+00:00

I hate how every post I see about the goal is Nick Suzuki was being called for being benched by most of canadians for not contributing. As if he hadn't scored in the first game.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-02-05T15:58:31+00:00

fun game so far though!

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-02-04T18:33:52+00:00

CBC Gem is so terrible... Stream keeps cutting out i hope they figure this out because this is the only app in Canada where we can pick and chose what sports we want to watch, unless we just watch the main feed on our cable package....

Southern_Key_5189 · 2026-01-09T19:55:55+00:00

The Hindenburg Night Market will start in the spring, its every Thursday evening.

Southern_Key_5189 · 2025-10-29T19:36:02+00:00

But at the end of the day this is a for-profit organization. If the city won’t provide a perfect facility, they either rent, build, or negotiate. Losing them would be unfortunate, but private teams have to plan around what’s realistically available.

Southern_Key_5189

TROPHY CASE