Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,214 residential properties in October through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,159 in October 2015, an increase of 4.7 per cent. The five-year average for October sales is 1,130.
“October’s sales continued the record-breaking resale trend for the third straight month,” says Shane Silva, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “While residential sales are identical to that of October 2015, condominium sales have soared – up by 27.2 per cent over last year. Lower inventory levels, combined with adjusting prices, may be creating these higher than normal activity levels in the condo property class.”
October’s sales included 257 in the condominium property class, and 957 in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, townhouse, etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases, and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
“The new mortgage rules announced at the beginning of October have yet to have an effect on the Ottawa market, as the announcement only came two weeks prior to implementation,” says Silva. “It’s too early to tell what kind of impact the new mortgage rules will have on the Ottawa market going forward. We know that right now Ottawa continues to be a desirable city to live and work, and consumer confidence and job growth remain positive.”
The average sale price of a residential-class property sold in October in the Ottawa area was $392,579 an increase of 3.3 per cent over October 2015. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $251,465, an increase of .01 per cent over October 2015. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
“The hottest segments in our market for October continue to be two-storey and bungalow residential homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range, followed by one-level and two-storey condos in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range” says Silva. “In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB Members have assisted clients with renting over 2,700 properties since the beginning of the year.”
