The condo market had been particularly soft since about 2011, because of a glut of new construction. But that surplus is now being rapidly absorbed, Mr. Kavcic said.

According to the Ottawa Real Estate Board, as of the end of September, single-family sales were up 6.6 percent over last year, and the average sales price was up 7.2 percent, to 425,139 Canadian dollars, or about $331,000. Condo sales were up 23.5 percent, with a 4.6 percent increase in the average sales price, to 272,220 Canadian, or about $212,000.

“We’ve had a record number of condos that have sold this year for over $1 million,” said Rick Eisert, the board president and the managing broker of RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Group. He attributed the demand for high-end properties to the change in government, which he said eased concerns about job security, and to employment growth in the city’s tech sector.

The Ottawa neighborhoods commanding the highest prices are Rockcliffe Park and the Glebe, “well-established blue-chip communities” close to downtown, Mr. McCann said. Westboro, on the Ottawa River, has become especially trendy as development there has boomed, he said.

WHO BUYS IN OTTAWA

The “vast majority” of foreign buyers are Chinese investors, Mr. McCann said. “The revenue side of it doesn’t seem pressing for them,” he said. “We have buildings that are new that are empty — they are just happy to park their money there.”

Earlier this year, the province of Ontario instituted a 15 percent tax on nonresident buyers in the greater Toronto area, in hopes of cooling speculative activity and price increases in what many perceived as an overheated market. The tax does not apply to Ottawa, however, which could bring more foreign buyers to the city, Mr. McCann said.

BUYING BASICS

The purchase process is similar to that in the United States: Buyers and sellers use their own real estate agents and lawyers. The agent’s commission, paid by the seller, is typically about five percent, Mr. McCann said.