Our Philosophy
Charles Khouri’s approach is built on long term relationships and straight advice. Clients rely on him for clear, professional commercial real estate guidance regardless of deal size. Every assignment matters, whether it is a single lease or a multi property disposition. The real estate professionals you choose directly impact your leverage, your outcomes, and your long term success. When you work with Charles Khouri, Realtor® and Royal LePage Ottawa Commercial, you are backed by a disciplined, experienced team focused on protecting value, strengthening negotiating power, and delivering results in real market conditions. Our belief is simple. When professionals are given the right environment, support, tools, and market intelligence, clients receive better advice and better outcomes. That is the standard we operate by, and the level of service our clients can expect.
Owners and Sellers
We work closely with building owners, property managers, and investors to position assets for long term value. That starts with understanding the property itself, its ideal use, and the importance of the right tenant mix. Through established industry relationships and local market intelligence, we target tenants and buyers who enhance asset value, not just fill space. For owners considering a sale, we provide a clear assessment of fair market value and a strategy designed to maximize pricing and execution. Whether leasing or selling, we identify client objectives first, then implement focused, data driven marketing strategies supported by targeted outreach and Royal LePage Ottawa Commercial’s online exposure.
Strategies include
- Highest and best use analysis
- Property specific marketing plans
- Re-merchandising opportunities
- Renovation and expansion analysis
- Economic and market trend assessment
- Ongoing monitoring of competitive developments
- Lease and sale negotiations
- Lease renewals
- Completed lease and sale execution
Retail Tenant Representation
Our retail leasing specialists represent a wide range of corporate and private sector clients. We understand that no two retailers are the same, and location decisions directly affect profitability. We assist local, regional, and national retailers with market entry, relocation, and expansion strategies. Through our local and national network, we identify locations that meet operational and financial requirements, then negotiate lease terms that protect long term performance. From initial planning through deal completion, we stay involved and accountable.
Investment Sales and Advisory
Charles Khouri and Royal LePage Ottawa Commercial provide professional advisory services for the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of retail, office, commercial, and industrial properties. Clients receive practical guidance on value, timing, and hold versus sell decisions. We work collaboratively to structure acquisition or disposition strategies that align with broader portfolio objectives. Our strength comes from long standing industry relationships, active buyer and tenant networks, and consistent interaction with developers and investors across local and national markets. The goal is not just to close transactions, but to help clients make smarter decisions that hold up over time.
Property Types We Handle
Ottawa commercial real estate covers very different asset classes, and each one trades on its own logic. Retail is driven by traffic counts, co-tenancy and frontage. Office is driven by lease term, tenant credit and how much the space will cost to re-fit. Industrial is driven by clear height, loading and power supply. Multi-residential is driven by rent rolls, vacancy and capital expenditure that has been deferred. Mixed use combines all of those problems in one building. I work across retail, office, industrial, multi-residential and mixed use properties throughout Ottawa, and the analysis changes with each. You can browse current Ottawa commercial real estate listings to see what is on the market right now.
Why a Construction Background Matters Here
I studied Construction Engineering Technician at Algonquin College and spent years in my family's Ottawa development and property management business before becoming a REALTOR. On commercial deals that background is not decorative. It means I can look at a building envelope, a roof age, a boiler, an electrical service or a parging repair and give you a grounded sense of what it will actually cost before you commit. Deferred maintenance is where commercial returns quietly disappear, and it is rarely disclosed in a listing.
How the Process Usually Works
Most commercial engagements start with a conversation about your objective rather than a property tour. Are you buying to occupy, buying to hold, repositioning an asset, or exiting one? From there we look at what the market will actually support: comparable sales and lease rates, realistic operating costs, financing at current rates, and the timeline you are working to. Only then does it make sense to look at buildings. Skipping that first step is how buyers end up with an asset that does not do what they needed it to do.
Ottawa Specifics Worth Knowing
Ottawa is not Toronto and it does not behave like it. Federal government tenancy anchors a large share of the office market, which cuts both ways depending on lease exposure. Multi-residential cap rates across the city currently sit in a range of roughly 4.2 to 5.5 percent, with tighter compression in Centretown and the Glebe and more room in Sandy Hill and Vanier. Vacancy has stayed under two percent, supported by federal employment and university demand. That stability is the real argument for Ottawa commercial and residential income property: modest returns, but the rent gets paid.
