Blog · Updated July 2026
A 25-year veteran — 10 years 3RCR, 15 years Intelligence — covers every step: BGRS to SIRVA transition, neighbourhoods by base, the HHT playbook, and the three mistakes that cost military families the most.
If your posting message just landed — first of all, congratulations.
Second — take a breath.
I've been exactly where you are. Ten years with 3RCR as an infantry paratrooper, fifteen years in Intelligence. I've received posting messages. I've moved my family. I've done the HHT sprint, the compressed timeline, the "we need to decide where we're living in five days" pressure that every CAF family knows.
Now, as an Ottawa REALTOR® and approved BGRS/SIRVA Third Party Service Provider — alongside my wife Mallory, a 14-year U.S. Navy veteran and licensed REALTOR® — I guide CAF, RCMP, and federal families through Ottawa relocations almost every week.
This is the guide I wish existed when I got my own posting message.
Before you read another word — watch this video. It covers everything in this article and more, including the biggest mistake military families make before they look at a single listing, the best Ottawa neighbourhoods by base, and what I'd do if I was getting posted to Ottawa tomorrow.
Video chapters
0:00 — The thing most Ottawa REALTORs can't say 0:20 — 10 years 3RCR · 15 years Intelligence 0:55 — The biggest mistake military families make 3:30 — The questions that actually narrow your search 5:30 — Riverside South — best for NDHQ Downtown & Leitrim 7:15 — Barrhaven — Ottawa's most complete family suburb 8:45 — Kanata — best for NDHQ Carling Campus 10:00 — Orléans — the bilingual east end 11:00 — Stittsville & Manotick 11:45 — If I was posted to Ottawa tomorrow 13:15 — Three mistakes to avoid 14:00 — Ready to move to Ottawa?In this guide
BGRS is now SIRVA — what you need to know The biggest mistake military families make Ottawa market update — May 2026 Where you'll be working and why it matters Ottawa neighbourhoods by base Understanding your BGRS/SIRVA entitlements Should you rent or buy? Three mistakes to avoid Schools in Ottawa Why military families work with Dwayne & MalloryBefore anything else — if your posting was authorized on or after January 6, 2026, your file is now administered through SIRVA, not BGRS. Brookfield Global Relocation Services officially transitioned to SIRVA on that date.
What stayed exactly the same: Your entitlements under the Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive (CAFRD) are unchanged. Your House Hunting Trip is still funded. Real estate commissions are still covered. Legal fees are still covered. The IRP process works the same way.
What changed: The name, the portal, and the app. If your file opened after January 6, 2026, you're logging into the SIRVA Member Secure Website — not the legacy BGRS portal. Download the new SIRVA Forces app.
Almost every family does the same thing. Posting message arrives. They open Realtor.ca, set their budget, and start scrolling listings. Beautiful kitchens. Double garages. Finished basements. And they fall in love with a house.
The problem? They haven't fallen in love with the neighbourhood.
After a few weeks, that beautiful kitchen just becomes your kitchen. You stop noticing it. But your commute? Your kids' schools? The parks, the grocery store, the hockey rink — that's what you'll experience every single day for the length of that posting.
Don't ask: where should I buy? Ask: how do I want my family to live? Everything gets easier after that one shift.
According to the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), the average home price in Ottawa as of May 2026 is $721,270, with the market sitting in balanced conditions. Months of supply is at 3.0, the sales-to-new-listings ratio is 48.2%, and active listings remain elevated at 4,917 units.
For CAF families coming through BGRS or SIRVA this posting season: you have more room to negotiate than you would have had in 2022 or 2023. Bidding wars are less common, inspection conditions are generally accepted, and sellers are pricing more strategically. Conditions are as favourable as they've been in several years for buyers in the $600,000 to $850,000 range.
The DND location you're posting to determines which neighbourhoods even make sense to consider. Test your commute at actual commute times — not Saturday afternoon — before you fall in love with any listing.
NDHQ Carling Campus (Moodie Drive & Carling Avenue) — Ottawa's largest DND campus with over 8,500 employees. You want to be in Ottawa's west end. Target neighbourhoods: Kanata, Bridlewood, Stittsville, Morgan's Grant.
NDHQ Downtown (Pearkes Building) — Range of DND and federal functions on Laurier Avenue. More neighbourhood flexibility with stronger transit options. Target neighbourhoods: Orléans, Barrhaven, Riverside South, Nepean.
CFS Leitrim — South end of the city. Target neighbourhoods: Riverside South, Findley Creek, Barrhaven.
Uplands / Airport Area — South Keys, Hunt Club, and Blossom Park.
The Limebank O-Train station opened in January 2025 and completely changed the commute picture for this community. Residents reach downtown without touching the Queensway — no 417, no merge lanes. For families where one member commutes downtown, that changes the entire calculation.
Newer homes throughout, the Rideau River pathway system woven into the neighbourhood, master-planned streets, modern schools. Townhomes from approximately $570,000, detached from $700,000+.
Costco, Chapman Mills, restaurants, gyms, medical clinics, movie theatre — most Barrhaven families rarely need to leave during the week. For a CAF family arriving on an HHT with five days on the ground, that convenience matters enormously. You can be settled and functional from day one. Townhomes from $550,000, detached from $700,000.
If you're posting to NDHQ Carling Campus, Kanata becomes one of the most logical choices. Everything feels polished — newer communities, great shopping, excellent schools, 15 to 20 minute commute to Carling Campus. I lived in Kanata Lakes before a posting to Colorado Springs and came back to Bridlewood when we returned. I know this community from the inside. Townhomes from $500,000, detached from $620,000+.
Orléans surprises buyers who haven't spent time there. Genuine community identity, Petrie Island in the summer, Ottawa River access, cycling routes that connect somewhere real, and strong French school options found nowhere else in Ottawa's suburbs. For NDHQ Downtown — excellent choice. For NDHQ Carling Campus — the crosstown commute is a real consideration. Test it on a Tuesday morning before you commit. Townhomes from $480,000, detached from $620,000.
Just west of Kanata with Main Street character. Independent cafés, local restaurants, a genuine village feel alongside newer subdivisions. All of Kanata's amenities within a short drive. Best for NDHQ Carling Campus postings who want a quieter community pace.
Before making any decisions, you need to understand your Core and Custom funding envelopes, your HHT funding and timeline, real estate commission coverage, legal fee coverage, and temporary accommodation options.
Choose your REALTOR® and lawyer before you book your HHT. Both must be on the TPSP (Third Party Service Provider) list. Ask your REALTOR® this question: "What is a substantiating document and how do you prepare one?" If they hesitate — find someone else.
Buying right away makes sense when you've done thorough neighbourhood research before your HHT, you're working with a REALTOR® who understands military relocations, your posting is three years or longer, and you have a clear picture of where you want to be.
Renting first makes sense when you've never lived in Ottawa and feel uncertain about which area fits your life, or your HHT felt too short to make a confident decision. Six months renting gives you time to learn the city and test your commute. Buying the wrong home in the wrong neighbourhood because you felt pressured on Day 5 is a much more expensive mistake.
Mistake 1: Buying too far from work because the house was cheaper. Saving 30 minutes each way, five days a week, fifty weeks a year is over 250 hours annually — birthdays, hockey practices, evenings home instead of on the 417. A beautiful house is a lot less beautiful when you're grinding through an extra two hours of commute every single day.
Mistake 2: Buying where someone else in your unit bought. What worked for them might be completely wrong for your family. They might work somewhere different, have no kids, or value entirely different things. Do your own research.
Mistake 3: Falling in love with the house before falling in love with the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood is what you'll live in every single day. Choose that first. Then find the right house inside it.
Ottawa offers four major school boards: Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (English public), Ottawa Catholic School Board (English Catholic), CEPEO (French public), and CECCE (French Catholic). French immersion is available across most neighbourhoods. For families with bilingual requirements — Orléans offers the deepest French school infrastructure in Ottawa's suburbs.
Rather than asking which suburb has the best schools generally — focus on the specific school catchment for any home you're considering. Your REALTOR® can pull that for any address.
I spent ten years with 3RCR as an infantry paratrooper and fifteen years in Intelligence. I've received posting messages. I've done the HHT sprint. I've moved my family. I understand what's at stake — not just financially, but for your family's daily life.
Mallory served fourteen years in the U.S. Navy. She brings her own understanding of military family life, the stress of relocation, and what it actually takes to help a family land well in a new city.
We're both licensed REALTORs® with eXp Realty and approved BGRS/SIRVA Third Party Service Providers. We understand the IRP process, substantiating documents, portal uploads, and how to make a five-day HHT count.
25 years in uniform. Approved BGRS/SIRVA supplier. Let's make this move the smooth one.
Book a call with Dwayne