Month: April 2024

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OREB Welcomes Nicole Christy as New CEO

After a competitive recruitment process, the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s (OREB) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Nicole Christy will assume the permanent position of CEO. Nicole joins OREB from the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) where she rose to the position of Vice-President, Corporate Governance and Leadership Development.

“Nicole’s experience with organized real estate and her connections to the Ottawa community make her the premier choice for CEO of the only local association dedicated to empowering Ottawa REALTORS® to be community builders,” says OREB President Curtis Fillier. “She’ll have the full confidence and support of OREB’s Board of Directors as she begins to tackle a list of exciting priorities.”

Nicole joined LSTAR in 2021 after several years working on housing policy and providing government relations support to some of Canada’s leading national associations, including the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. She was instrumental in providing leadership to LSTAR as its members navigated a series of significant changes, including legislative reform and a transition to a new MLS® ecosystem. With a collaborative and forward-thinking approach, she also provided strategic support to LSTAR’s board of directors and oversaw the association’s governance and leadership development processes.

“It’s a pivotal time in a rapidly evolving industry, but our mission remains steadfast: for OREB and its REALTOR® Members to be respected as the leading authority on real estate matters,” says Nicole. “I know I’m joining an exceptional team and I look forward to working with everyone to bring our Members new tools and services that will elevate their practice and the value they offer to clients — including new technologies that facilitate barrier-free access to province-wide listing and property data.”

Nicole is set to start on June 1, 2024. She succeeds Janice Myers who departed OREB at the end of 2023 after 10 years to become the CEO of CREA. The board of directors thanks interim CEO Cherie Kirkby for her expert leadership during the transition period, as well as the entire staff team for their support.

Ottawa MLS® Market Shows Early Signs of a Buzzing Spring Market

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Ottawa Real Estate Board totaled 1,165 units in March 2024. This was an increase of 10% from March 2023. Home sales were 21.5% below the five-year average and 15% below the 10-year average for the month of March.

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Ottawa Real Estate Board totaled 1,165 units in March 2024. This was an increase of 10% from March 2023.

Home sales were 21.5% below the five-year average and 15% below the 10-year average for the month of March.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 2,678 units over the first three months of the year — an increase of 13.1% from the same period in 2023.

“Ottawa’s real estate market is overall healthy, providing fertile ground for an active spring and summer ahead,” says OREB President Curtis Fillier. “The increases in new and active listings indicate that sellers are feeling more confident, boosted by the rise in showing activity. Buyers, however, aren’t acting as quickly as they perhaps should be — likely because affordability and supply are still roadblocks.”

“Something is around the corner in this market, though,” says Fillier. “People have adjusted to post-pandemic life and that means revisiting their housing needs. Some are downsizing or moving in from the city’s outskirts. Others are looking at more suitable properties that better meet all their needs, which weren’t accessible to them in the peak pandemic market. That’s creating pressure from multiple angles on the mid-range property market, which we know is tight to begin with in Ottawa. Just because you’re in the real estate market, doesn’t mean you’re safe from the market. If you’re a buyer or seller looking to make a move, I wouldn’t wait too long.”

By the Numbers – Prices:

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends far more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures.

  • The overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $636,700 in March 2024, a gain of 2.7% from March 2023.
    • The benchmark price for single-family homes was $719,000, up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis in March.
    • By comparison, the benchmark price for a townhouse/row unit was $489,800, up slightly at 0.9% compared to a year earlier.
    • The benchmark apartment price was $423,200, up 4.3% from year-ago levels.
  • The average price of homes sold in March 2024 was $682,078 increasing 5.1% from March 2023. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $659,828, increasing by 3.2% from the first three months of 2023.
  • The dollar volume of all home sales in March 2024 was $794.6 million, up 15.6% from the same month in 2023.

OREB cautions that the average sale price 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 calculation of the average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold. Prices will vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

By the Numbers – Inventory & New Listings

  • The number of new listings saw an increase of 13.5% from March 2023. There were 2,074 new residential listings in March 2024. New listings were 2.3% below the five-year average and 11.1% below the 10-year average for the month of March.
  • Active residential listings numbered 2,543 units on the market at the end of March 2024, a gain of 18.3% from March 2023. Active listings were 58.6% above the five-year average and 17.7% below the 10-year average for the month of March. Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of March in more than five years.
  • Months of inventory numbered 2.2 at the end of March 2024, up only slight from 2 in March 2023 and below the long-run average of 2.6 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.